Born and raised in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, Kathleen Hunzer has always been an avid reader of realistic stories that explore important issues. Her first young adult book, Always a Reason to Smile, is based on her real-life experiences with a friend she met at Poquessing Middle School in Pennsylvania who used a wheelchair after a medical emergency. Now living in the midwest with working as a college professor, Kathleen hopes to inspire young adult readers through her fiction.