Christie Purifoy (PhD, University of Chicago) has taught literature and composition to undergraduates at the University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, and the University of North Florida. In 2012, Christie traded the university classroom for a large vegetable garden and a henhouse in southeastern Pennsylvania. She is a regular writer at "Grace Table" and has contributed essays to numerous websites, including Art House America, "A Deeper Story," and many popular blogs. She writes about the beauty, mystery, and wonder that lies beneath the ordinary at her blog, "There Is a River" (www.christiepurifoy.com).