About Karen Olesch

I am a writer whose work spans personal essays, cultural commentary, and literary exploration of identity, memory, and transformation. My published essays—featured in Chicago Parent, LA Parent Magazine, Parenthoodweb, Personal Journaling Magazine, and The Generator—reflect a thoughtful, accessible voice grounded in real life, curiosity, and human connection.

Much of my early published work explores the everyday experiences that shape us: parenting, relationships, play, balance, and the quiet questions that surface beneath ordinary routines. These pieces are marked by warmth, humor, and a deep respect for lived experience—an approach that continues to inform my evolving literary work.

In recent years, my writing has expanded toward longer-form fiction and creative nonfiction with historically rooted narratives. Drawing on extensive genealogical research, European history, and spiritual study, I am now focused on stories that examine inherited memory, family secrecy, displacement, and the search for meaning across generations. My current projects explore how identity is shaped not only by what we are told, but by what remains hidden—and how reclaiming truth can become an act of healing.

Alongside my writing, I am a certified yoga and meditation teacher and have been teaching college classes in writing and philosophy for the last 30 years. I have an MA in Philosophy, a Certificate of Graduate Studies in religion, and my MA in English and Creative Writing is in progress.

I am particularly interested in the intersection of history and inner life: how spiritual frameworks, embodied awareness, and ancestral memory can coexist within compelling, character-driven stories.

My future work is devoted to historical and speculative fiction and creative nonfiction that bridges the personal and the collective, giving voice to women navigating silence, survival, and self-discovery. Through my writing, I aim to create stories that function as maps—guiding readers through the past toward clarity, compassion, and transformation.

I welcome thoughtful conversation and connection with my readers. Feel free to shoot me an email.