Abigail Jacklyn Behrends is a United States citizen who was born and raised in the state of Wisconsin. She obtained her BA degrees in cultural anthropology and psychology, with a certificate in women studies, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002. Late in her undergraduate career she attended an experiential learning study-abroad program called Semester at Sea, boarding a ship in the spring of 2001 that traveled to 12 different countries on four continents. During this time, she discovered her love for photography, and as a result, her photography work has been displayed at locations such as the National Press Club; the Andy Warhol Museum; Laguna Beach, CA; and independent solo photography shows at galleries in both her home state and the state of Minnesota. Her current photography shows are a visual anthropological examination focusing on women’s empowerment in Asia. One of her photographs has also been published in a book titled Changing Perspective: The Semester at Sea Experience.
She has worked for the state of South Dakota and the state of Wisconsin, focusing on archaeology. In addition, her love for photography and working with artifacts brought her to become a photography researcher, co-leading a team in the archiving of approximately 15,000 personal family photos, documents, and items for the Robert F. Kennedy family. Some of the photos were used in the five Emmy-nominated documentary film Ethel.
Abigail Jacklyn Behrends has lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, New York, Vermont, South Dakota, and Arkansas while in the USA, and Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam while abroad. While living in Vermont, she obtained her MA degree at SIT Graduate Institute called Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management. She did her MA thesis work with the Karen Women’s Organization in Thailand, then subsequently wrote the thesis, “An Examination of How Refugee Resettlement Affects the Experiences of Karen Female Refugees that Remain on the Thai/Burma Border,” which has been published electronically at the SIT Graduate Institute Library.
She is a LGBTQ rights advocate and currently pushing to have the LGBTQI Equality Act passed.
In the Sea of Seas is her first work of fantasy fiction, the first of a duology. She has also written the science fiction 2192, the first of a trilogy. She has written many more novels, short stories, and poems that she is also looking forward to publishing in the future.
