About Sophia

Sophia Raday lives in Berkeley, California, with her soldier/police officer husband, their two children, a bipartisan dog, and assorted firearms. In marital disagreements, Sophia is apt to say, "Honey, you aren’t being present with me." Whereas her husband might say, "You’re messin’ up, Troop!" Back when Sophia thought she couldn’t possibly be a writer, she studied International Relations at Stanford University and took classes from Condoleeza Rice. She was also a student activist (see arrest photo below). After graduating from Stanford, Sophia worked in local politics, traveled, worked as a carpenter, and eventually got her masters degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

During the years that she carried a briefcase, Sophia worked in community development finance. Shortly after taking on the job title of "Mother," Sophia began writing and publishing. She was a founding editor of the online magazine Literary Mama, where she first mused about her bipartisan marriage in the column "Mommy Athens, Daddy Sparta." Her work appeared in various anthologies and Stanford magazine. She got a big break in 2006 when her essay was selected for the New York Times "Modern Love" column. Shortly thereafter she was able to sell her memoir to Beacon Press. Her husband was deployed to Iraq in April of 2007 and returned in May 2008. Counting pre-deployment training, the family was separated for fifteen months. She is grateful to have him home safely.

Author Interviews

 
CARRIED AWAY: A Stanford Daily photo (1985), shows Sophia's removal from an anti-apartheid sit-in B. and friend on the job on the streets of Oakland Goodbye hug prior to deployment 2007 2008 REUNION: Home from Iraq
MEDIA INFO:
Download a high resolution author photo