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Karen Foster was the oldest of six children in a military family. She held a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing, and she did postgraduate work in English. She worked as an editor and technical writer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for many years, but she loved creative writing. Her true passion was raising, showing, and breeding English Springer Spaniels. Her affection for dogs is evident in Reasons for Waking, her first novel, completed shortly before she died in March 2022. Karen's siblings worked with her publisher, Bold Story Press, to ensure her book was published posthumously.
Karen's accomplishments are particularly remarkable given that she was blind at birth; six surgeries before age two restored just three percent of her vision. She never complained, and never sought special treatment or pity. She was fiercely independent until the end.
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
Reasons for Waking is a work of fiction in the Southern fiction, family saga, and interpersonal drama subgenres. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Karen Foster. In this heartfelt tale about family dynamics, secrets, hurting, and healing, we discover how life has turned out for Philip, a reclusive man with a lot of pain in his past. He’s brought back into family life by a young woman touched by the same tragedy that sent Philip off on a lonely road, and together they begin to unpick the complex web of misunderstandings, assumptions, secrets and lies that have led to a difficult and prolonged silence.
Author Karen Foster has crafted a truly unique family drama like nothing else I’ve read this year, and one which has a poignant message about openness, communication, and the danger of not speaking up when you really should. One of the features that most impressed me in this emotionally intelligent work was its commitment to character, as every figure in the family and those close acquaintances around them all seemed totally realized with their own personality, dialogue style, attitudes, and values. The layers of realism surrounding the estranged Philip make the impact all the more enjoyable when he’s able to dig deep and break down some of the walls he’s built for himself. Combining this with the hardships, struggles, and tearjerking moments of pure emotion, Foster delivers a stellar drama in Reasons for Waking that is both highly recommended and not to be missed.
