Karen Santorum is one of twelve children. By profession, she is both a nurse and attorney. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Duquesne University, and worked for several years in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her Juris Doctorate degree is from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where she was a Law Review member. In addition to Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners, she is the author of the acclaimed book, Letters to Gabriel. Karen is married to United States Senator, Rick Santorum, and they have seven children, Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Gabriel (deceased), Sarah Maria, Peter, and Patrick. Her greatest role and love in life is being a full time mother at home. According to Karen, “There is no greater joy in life than to be a mother. It is the most important job I will ever have.”

In Everyday Graces: A Child’s Book of Good Manners, Karen Santorum has produced for parents and teachers a wonderfully rich and instructive anthology. Her volume speaks to the regrettable fact that the subject of manners is not much discussed anymore, and good manners seem practiced even less. Yet, good manners are a prerequisite for the growth of moral character; they are the habits of conduct and behavior by which we express in the most ordinary circumstances our fundamental respect for others, whether parents, friends, colleagues, or strangers. It is evident, then, that when we fail to instill good manners in our youth we invite a decline of civility and a coarsening of our common life.