Patricia Raybon is an award-winning journalist, author, and essayist. She worked as a journalist for 12 years before joining the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder to teach print journalism for 15 years. In 2006 she turned to writing full-time. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and USA Weekend, among others. She has also won a number of awards, including the Christopher Award and the Books for a Better Life Award for her memoir on racial forgiveness, My First White Friend. She now lives in Colorado with her husband.