A California native, Suzanne Adam served in the Peace Corps in Colombia before moving to Santiago, Chile in 1972 to marry her boyfriend, Santiago. She explores how this experience shaped her life in her 2015 memoir Marrying Santiago. Adam admits to being a tree-hugger, avid reader, nature writer, gardener, CNN news junkie, bird watcher, lover of storms and laughter, and doting granny. Before turning to writing, she worked as a teacher of learning-disabled children. Her essays have been published in The Christian Science Monitor, California Magazine, the Marin Independent Journal, Nature Writing, and Persimmon Tree. She blogs at www.tarweedspirit.blogspot.com.