Sara Gruen, born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1969, has dual American and Canadian citizenship. She grew up in London, Ontario and earned her undergraduate degree in English literature at Carleton University in Ottawa. After living in Ottawa for ten years after graduation, Gruen moved to the United States for a technical writing job. Laid off two years later, she wrote her first novel, Riding Lessons. Like Water for Elephants, her international bestseller, was adapted into a feature film starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. Gruen's awards include the Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Fiction and Friends of American Literature Adult Fiction Award. She lives in North Carolina.
