Karen is an experienced public speaker, workshop leader, instructor and published author. She grew up in Southern Ontario, Canada and moved to Calgary in 1991 to become a chartered clinical psychologist. In 1995 she moved to England, but has since returned to settle in Calgary.

In addition to writing, her interests now are teaching memoir writing, helping victims of upscale abuse and studying what keeps women in abusive situations. She is a member of an Alberta Health initiative to improve service in emergency rooms for those suffering from domestic abuse.

Karen teaches memoir courses for people who have difficult stories to tell, at the Alexandra Writers Centre in Calgary.