Karla McLaren
Educator, social science researcher, and author of The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill and The Language of Emotions

“I loved The Wild Swans, a Hans Christian Andersen fable about 11 brothers who were cursed by their stepmother and turned into swans. Their only sister was banished and mute, and she had a dream that told her to weave shirts for her brothers out of nettles to break the spell. I loved the threads of exile, loyalty, love, sacrifice, pain, and beauty in the story, which spoke to me at a very deep level and helped me understand and endure some of the difficulties of my early childhood. It was beautiful and haunting.”