About the Author: Katherine Leiner

Katherine Leiner gets her story no matter what.

I have been scribbling on scraps of paper since I was very young. I watched my father do it. By the time he was mid-80’s he was carrying stacks of small papers rubber banded together in his inside jacket pocket. I’d watch him remove the rubber band and re-read the pages, shaking his head. It was a lesson for me. I needed tidiness. In the last 10 years I have begun carrying small notebooks and a tape recorder. Mostly the notebooks are filled with ideas and one-liners, occasionally something I note will turn into a book.

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks and Food Activists started in the car while my daughter and I were driving West with our cattle dog, Luna. I had decided that we weren’t going to eat any fast food and so we "Googled" health food stores, restaurants and farm markets along our way. We’d kept notes and soon we were throwing around the idea of a book.

Of all the interviews I did for Growing Roots, the hardest one was with a goat. No matter how I explained to that furry creature that the recorder was not food, he continued to try to grab it. It’s always about boundaries. Finally, I lowered my voice and said firmly, "No." From then on the interview went swimmingly and he gave me the information I needed.

More about the author at: Katherine Leiner.com