Charles Pearl is a retired journalist, who has won numerous awards for writing and photography. He continues to do freelance writing, mostly for The State Journal newspaper and FRANK magazine in Frankfort, the capital city of Kentucky. He was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the summer of 1948, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, and grew up in Lebanon, Kentucky. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Western Kentucky University. He lives near downtown Frankfort with his 12-year-old black Lab, Lily, and serves on the Frankfort Interfaith Council. "Dancing at the Yurt: An Interfaith Spiritual Journey" is his first book.