Bestselling author Karen Armstrong is a distinguished writer noted for her memoirs and her books about religion. She majored in English at St. Anne's College in Oxford while living in a convent, an experience she wrote about in Through the Narrow Gate, which was published to laudatory reviews. She became an independent writer and has since published twenty-five books. In great demand as a public speaker, she is also the founder of the Charter for Compassion, which was funded with a TED grant.