Lauren Winner was born in North Carolina, daughter of a Reform Jewish father and a lapsed Baptist mother. During her freshman year at Columbia University, she converted to Orthodox Judaism. She studied in England, receiving a master's degree from Cambridge University, and during that time she was baptized into the Church of England.
Ms. Winner tells the story of her religious journey in Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life, a book that was met with widespread critical acclaim. In Mudhouse Sabbath she illuminates the spiritual lessons that Judaism taught her, reflecting on how Jewish religious practices shape and inform her faith as a Christian.
Currently at work on her doctorate in American history at Columbia, Ms. Winner also contributes to numerous magazines. Her work has appeared in Christianity Today, the Christian Century, the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post Book World, and many other journals.
