She received her Ph.D. from Boston University in 2016. She currently is working on a book, entitled Grief and the Hero: the Futility of Longing in the Iliad, which explores the nexus of grief, longing, and anger in the Iliad. Her other projects include work on grief and fulfillment in the Odyssey and the effectiveness of vengeance in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Ms. Austin is also the happy child of two Johnnies, who taught her to love Great Books and good conversations.