Melanie Hoffert is the author of Prairie Silence: A Memoir (Beacon Press, 2013). She grew up on a farm near Wyndmere, North Dakota, where she spent her childhood wandering gravel roads and listening to farmers at church potlucks. Her work has been published in several literary journals, and she holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University. Melanie lives in Minneapolis. Learn more about her work at melaniehoffert.com.