I’m Laura Thompson Kiefert—a Wisconsin writer, wife, mother of two sons, and Mimi to four grandchildren. I grew up in Orfordville, one of six kids in a family where people showed up for each other. Family, friendship, and community still shape how I see the world, even when the world gives me plenty to argue with.
I didn’t go to college, and my career took a winding road. I started working at sixteen, taught myself about computers, and eventually became the IT manager at Hoffman York, an advertising agency in Milwaukee. I’ve always liked figuring things out. Give me a problem, a little time, and access to the internet, and I’m likely to have questions you hadn’t thought to ask.
My husband, Bob, is my person and my rock. We’ve built a life around family, shared adventures, and the everyday things that turn a house into a home. We now live in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I love a good movie, an old photograph, a lively conversation, and time with the people who matter most. I also have opinions about politics, restaurant prices, and why every comfortable chair should have armrests.
Don’t Blink! is where I put those thoughts into words. I write about aging, family, friendship, loss, politics, and the strange business of being human. Sometimes I’m looking back. Sometimes I’m laughing at myself. Sometimes I’m asking how something so plainly wrong became acceptable. I’m a progressive, and I care about fairness, compassion, and whether we’re leaving things better for the people coming after us.
My books include Left Waiting and the Don’t Blink books on Aging, Reflections, and Politics. Whether I’m writing a book or a blog post, I want it to sound like a conversation with someone who tells you what she really thinks. Life has taught me a few things, but it hasn’t cured my curiosity—or my stubborn streak.
I write because the ordinary moments deserve our attention, the difficult ones deserve honesty, and laughter helps us get through both. We don’t own tomorrow. I’d like to make something of today, and I’m glad you’re here to share a little of it with me.
