Hi there! If you've come here for the short and sweet version, here it is:

Kimberly Zook earned an MS in Biology and an MA in Secondary Education before returning to her childhood dream of being a full-time writer. In college she graduated early and moved to the rainforest, where she lived for a few years, alone, in a hut, with no indoor plumbing! She nows journeys wherever the Navy sends her husband and their three daughters. New stories are always on the next horizon. She is the author of two award-winning short stories and writes young adult novels that delve into science and magical realism and history.

And for those of you who like to fall down rabbit holes:

George Ella Lyon, author of Where I'm From, has inspired many people to use the framework of her poem to share their own personal stories. I hope you give your own story a chance to join this tapestry of poems.

This is where I'm from...

I am from soccer cleats,
from Cadmium Red fumes and diary keys. 

I am from the suburban sprawl over pockets of Midwest corn.
   (Row after row,
      by default.)

I am from the abandoned lot of Fescue grass, the maple red-bronze and gold-green,
   that melted in between wax paper and Crayola shavings
   under my mother's iron.

I am from birthday breakfast in bed and Thunder Thighs,
from 50 Mauck Lane and south side Chicago.

I am from the story tellers and poets, from survivors who eat table crumbs after meals and
   Christmas money envelopes on the tree, from the gift to enjoy childhood and no college loans.

I'm from Crying Doesn't Help and You're Not Average.

I am from Baptist and Republican,
from Catholic and Democrat.
I'm from the space of seeking a belief, the yearning to know the truth.

I’m from Midwest statelines, apple crunch and Fresh Bread Tonight,
from the yard Grandma B. set on fire to the departing pulse of helicopter blades over my father in Vietnam fields.

I am from sheltered closets and superficial hallways,
   scratching to escape and find a corner in the world where I belonged,
   only to discover after roaming the world
   my corner is home.