Maura Casey grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., the youngest of a large, Irish family. She has written regularly since she was thirteen. For more than thirty years, Casey was an editorial writer for three New England newspapers and The New York Times, where she had a seat on the exalted Times editorial board. Over her opinion writing career, she won more than forty journalism awards. Casey holds a BA from Buffalo State College and an MA from The American University. She and her husband Pete have two adult children and two grandchildren. They live on a small farm in Connecticut with two dogs and a barn cat. Casey writes a weekly column, Casey's Catch, and when the breeze is right, sails on Long Island Sound in her sailboat, Second Wind.