About Kathy Ide

I’ve been writing for publication since 1989, and I’ve been a professional freelance editor since 1998. (I like to say I’ve been in this industry since the 1900s! That sounds really impressive, doesn’t it? Or maybe it just makes me seem ancient.)

I was born in Aurora, Illinois, spent my childhood in a Chicago suburb called Downer’s Grove, and went to high school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. At nineteen, I moved to Southern California, where I met my wonderful husband, Rick. We have two adult sons. Mike lives in SoCal, and Tom lives near Austin, Texas, with his lovely wife, Ronit, and their awesome kids (my amazing grandchildren), David and Camila.

My husband and I enjoy hiking among the sequoias—the largest trees on earth, some of which have been around for three thousand years! Rick learned how to calculate tree volume, so we’ve been on a search to find, measure, and photograph the biggest ones. We’ve identified more than 100 so far! Check out our SequoiaQuest website.
We also love jet skiing—especially on Lake Powell, where we often rent a houseboat and share it with family members for a week.

For details about my journey in writing, editing, speaking, and directing conferences and retreats, check out My Story.

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