Rachel Gathercole was born in Zaragoza, Spain, and spent roughly half of her childhood in a small Kansas town and the other half in the fast-paced metropolis of Miami, Florida.  Educated in some of America’s best public schools, she never expected to be a homeschooler, but she always knew she would be a writer.
    Today, as the mother of three children, she has been homeschooling for ten years and is respected as an author of many informative articles and essays that cut through stereotypes and misconception and shed new light on homeschooling, parenting, and children.  Her articles have appeared in various national and local publications, including as cover stories in Mothering, Life Learning, and other magazines.  She was also a contributor to the 2004 anthology Loving Mama: Essays on Natural Parenting and Motherhood, edited by Tiffany Palisi. 
    A trusted member of the homeschooling community, Rachel was recently interviewed by Mike Smith on the nationally-syndicated radio show Home School Heartbeat, is a resident parenting expert on the popular website WithJess.com, and has been featured as a guest speaker in the Mothering-sponsored chat room at MommyChats.com. Rachel has interviewed hundreds of homeschooling parents and children across the United States and Canada, taught writing classes to homeschoolers for several years, and served as a co-leader of her local home educators’ association.  She holds a diploma from the New World School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and believes that caring for children is the most valuable, challenging, and fulfilling thing a grown person can do.  “Every morning I wake up feeling I’ve won the lottery,” she says.  “I am very grateful for the life I have, and I want to help others find their winning lottery ticket, too.  That’s what keeps me writing.”
    Rachel also enjoys dancing, watching movies, talking with friends, listening to music, and singing along.  She lives with her husband and three beautiful children in North Carolina.