Kay Bratt is a child advocate and author of the books Train to Nowhere, Chasing China, The Bridge, A Thread Unbroken, and the acclaimed memoir of her own childhood and the years she spent working in Chinese orphanages, Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage. She is an active volunteer for the nonprofit organizations An Orphan's Wish (AOW) and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for abused and neglected children. In China, she has been honored with the Pride of the City award for humanitarian work. After living in China for several years, Bratt now resides in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat.