Author Bio

A fifth-generation Northern Californian, Lisa Crawford Watson has published several books and thousands of articles in local and national newspapers and magazines. Her most-recent book, a memoir, “What We Wished for: An Adoption Story,” published in October 2024. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociolinguistics from the University of California at Davis, a Master's degree in education administration from California State University, Sacramento, and currently teaches writing at Monterey Peninsula College, and communications, writing, and journalism at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Lisa lives with her handsome husband in Carmel-by-the-High School, where, in addition to writing, she focuses on fitness, family, and philanthropy. As a resident of the “Canine Capital of the Country,” Lisa has a devoted following for her weekly dog column in the Carmel Pine Cone, for which she has profiled—and her husband has photographed —nearly 800 furry friends.

Author Statement

As an author and freelance feature journalist, I have spent a lot of time reading and writing. In fall 2024, I published "What We Wished For,” a story of how right it was for a twin to adopt 11- month-old identical Afro-Latina-Hawaiian twin girls, who had never been held, had their bottles held for them, or been together since birth. . .and how wrong, in many ways, it went. I read a quote by author the late John Barth: “The story of your life is not your life; it is a story, an interpretation of the life you’ve lived.” I understand that. I also know that everyone in this story lived their own version of it, and everyone wished for something.