n to find herself and earn wages while being an aspiring writer. A few jobs which helped to enrich her future career were as a proofreader, typesetter, librarian, and a book reviewer. Her other jobs were as an advertising secretary, actress, waitress, nanny, personnel officer, agricultural laborer, mental-health care provider, substitute teacher, and a member of the school board. As a child, Hesse hoped to become an archeologist, an ambassador, or an actress (Scholastic 1,2 ; Conant 1).Throughout her writing career, Karen Hesse has won many awards. She won the Newberry Medal and Scott O’Dell Award for Out of the Dust. She was honored by the ALA for the best book for young adults and has won the Christopher Award as well (Scholastic 1,2). Many organizations and periodicals have honored her for her excellent writing for young adults. Hesse says she basically writes based on memories, experiences, people or things she’s met or encountered, and relationships (Conant 1).Hesse currently resides in Brattleboro, Vermont with her husband and her two daughters. She studies, reads, and observes as much as she can on a daily basis. Karen enjoys public radio, public television, and learning and absorbing as much new information as possible (Wilson 1,2). These dreams we have all surely had can sometimes appear to be so very unobtainable, however they are always worth following and can be very rewarding. Karen Hesse found this to be true and to be the story of her life. Obviously, the most satisfaction will come from doing what one truly wants. Karen Hesse is one to be admired for her persistence in obtaining her goal of becoming a writer, which she stubbornly held onto for 30 years. With a little hard work and determination, succeeding in what one wants to do is a much less trying task, as proven by Hesse....
