Danielle Teller received her medical training at McGill University, Brown University and Yale University. She has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University, where she investigated the origins of chronic lung disease and taught in the medical intensive care unit. In 2013, Danielle quit her job to pursue her childhood dream of being a writer. She is the author of Sacred Cows: The Truth About Divorce and Marriage (Diversion 2014) and has written numerous columns for Quartz. She lives with her husband, Astro Teller, and their four children in Palo Alto, California.
[A] charmed debut [....] Teller pulls off the spellbinding trick of turning an easy-to-hate character into a strong and conscientious female lead. -- <em>Publishers Weekly</em> Teller's reimagined tale. . .stands out among the best. . . . Fairy-tale aficionados will adore Teller's complex, touching retelling of this classic story of womanhood, perseverance, and familial love, in which she strikes an ideal balance between familiar and fresh. -- <em>Booklist</em> (starred review) A fascinating reimagining of the original tale. . . .Readers will feel empathy for Agnes, consider various misunderstandings and think twice before labeling her as wicked. -- Lisa Ko, author of <em>The Leavers</em> Teller set aside an established medical career as a pulmonary doctor and researcher five years ago to write full time. Nevertheless, she plays surgeon still, extracting the (formerly) villainous stepmother as protagonist and skillfully excising the classic story's myths, magic and misconceptions. -- <em>San Jose Mercury News</em> As in the best literary inversions (e.g., Gregory Maguire's Wicked), Teller demonstrates the flaws and fine points of characters on both sides. -- Washington Post Teller's novel is a powerfully written rendition of the Cinderella story... Tells a complex tale of a love that forms through patient nurturing and by just being present. -- Book Club Babble Teller woos readers into taking a better, more open-eyed look at a character that's been maligned for centuries, one with strength and who's worthy of stunned sympathy. -- <em>Guam Daily Post</em> Sometimes you've only heard one part of the story. Cinderella's famously maligned stepmother, Agnes, gets to tell her own side in this clever take on the fairy tale. -- New York Post