Kristin Harmel

Kristin Harmel is the author of seven novels, including her latest, The Sweetness of Forgetting, a poignant, heartwarming story about a woman who sets out to uncover the secrets of her Alzheimer’s-afflicted grandmother’s Holocaust-era past, a journey which brings her to Paris and back and teaches her some important truths about love, family and the sweetness of remembering. Publishers Weekly has said of Harmel’s work that her “lessons on family, friendship, loss, and the enduring power of love . . . stick with readers.” Translation rights to The Sweetness of Forgetting have been sold all over the world, and Harmel will be spending much of her time in 2012-13 talking to audiences in Europe and South America, as well as here in the States. While most of Harmel’s previous novels were in the vein of Bridget Jones’s Diary or Sex and the City, her latest, The Sweetness of Forgetting, represents a real departure for the vibrant young author. It’s a haunting, memorable story of a family torn apart by war and the ravages of time and Alzheimer’s disease, and the idea that love might be able to put it all back together before it’s too late. The book was inspired in part by her own deep interest in religion and the Holocaust, especially in Paris, where Harmel used to live and write. It was also inspired by her journey with her own beloved grandmother, who is currently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, the book explores the way that history is passed down through recipes – the main character runs her family’s bakery – and the way that in one of history’s darkest hours, Muslims, Christians and Jews all came together for the good of mankind, which Harmel believes is a wonderful lesson in today’s world. In addition to writing novels, Harmel, who Cosmpolitan magazine has called “hilarious,” and who’s been hailed by LA’s The Place magazine as “the real-life combo of Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw,” is the relationship expert for the nationally syndicated morning television show The Daily Buzz, which airs in more than 170 television markets across the United States on the CW network. She also covers travel for the show and has globetrotted around the United States and Europe in search of perfect travel tips for her viewers. She has appeared on FOX & Friends, Good Morning America and numerous other shows to talk about her books, and feature articles have been written about her in many major publications, including the Boston Globe, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Orlando Sentinel. As a longtime journalist who wrote her first novel at the age of 24, Harmel, now in her 30s, began writing for People magazine in 2000 and has interviewed celebrities ranging from John Glenn to Justin Timberlake, Patrick Dempsey to Hulk Hogan, Missy Elliott to Sarah Jessica Parker. She has covered Super Bowls, NBA All-Star Games, and MTV Awards ceremonies, and she has also written about true crime and real-life heroes for the magazine. Harmel also teaches creative writing for the worldwide media organization Mediabistro, and she has taught journalism courses in the University of Florida’s College of Journalism & Communications. She lives in Orlando, FL.