A. Jean Lesher

After a career as an executive editor helping others publish their books, A. Jean Lesher developed and published three of her own collections of inspirational writings. She is the editor of three books: "Pathways to Peace" (Cowley Publishing), "Prayers for the Common Good" (Pilgrim Press) and "O Holy Night: Timeless Meditations on Christmas" (St. Mary’s Press). The books are collections of writings related to the title themes with well-known authors from ancient and modern times and from many countries. She also self-published a "mini-memoir" in 2013 of three consequential years in her life titled "My Two Great Loves," a collection of writings from her years in Europe working as a journalist for a refugee relief agency.

While living in Chicago, she developed a line of professional books for adult educators as well as trade books related to religion as an editor for Follett Publishing Company. Later at Scott, Foresman and Company, she became editor-in-chief of AARP Books, a line of trade titles for older people, and she developed a new line of professional books for gerontologists. A number of her titles won awards for excellence from professional and trade organizations. After Scott, Foresman, she spent five years as director of copyright and permissions at the American Bar Association in Chicago. She retired from that position to begin work on her own collections.

She spent a year studying theology and social ethics at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., before earning her master's degree in classical rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. Her undergraduate degree in journalism is from the University of Washington, Seattle. She lives in Claremont, Calif.