Patricia McCormick is a former journalist who has won much acclaim for her compassionate approach to hard-hitting subjects. To research Purple Heart, she traveled all around the country to interview soldiers as well as the families of soldiers who went to Iraq and never returned. She also took part in a peace demonstration with veterans from the war in Iraq. There was a pair of boots for every soldier who'd died and a pile of shoes to represent the civilian lives that had been lost. "I remember the sight of a pair of little boy's sneakers in the pile," she said. "And I instantly had an image of a child being struck by a machine gun bullet. It was an image that has haunted me ever since."
Patricia is also the author of the National Book Award Finalist Sold and the bestseller Cut. She lives in New York City.