Laila Ibrahim is the bestselling author of Yellow Crocus, Mustard Seed, Golden Poppies, Scarlet Carnation, Falling Wisteria, Paper Wife, and After the Rain. She spent much of her career as a preschool director, a birth doula, and a religious educator. Born and raised in Whittier, California, she studied Human Development at Mills College and San Francisco State University.

Laila is a devout Unitarian Universalist, determined to do her part to add a little more love and justice to our beautiful and painful world. She lives with her wonderful wife, Rinda, and two other families in a small cohousing community in Berkeley, California. Her young adult children and their families are her pride and joy. Laila is blessed to be working half-time as a novelist. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys walking with friends and her toy Aussie, Hazel Nut, doing jigsaw puzzles, playing games, going to Disneyland, gardening, traveling, cooking, and eating out.

Her education and experience in multiracial, developmental psychology, and attachment theory provide ample fodder for her novels. Her passion for early childhood education, childbirth, and religious education is reflected in her writing. As the founder and director of Woolsey Children's School, she gained firsthand experience loving children that were not her own. Many scenes in Yellow Crocus were influenced by interactions she experienced at Woolsey. As a birth doula, she witnessed the intensity and joy of childbirth, experiences which are also reflected in her novels. Spiritual themes crossing over multiple religious traditions come directly from her work as the Director of Children and Family Ministries.

Laila loves calling, Zooming, or FaceTiming into book clubs and public speaking. She can be contacted at ldibrahim@gmail.com.