Mette Ivie Harrison, a Danish name meaning "pearl" in Greek, was born in Summit, New Jersey, on September 30, 1970. She was the ninth of eleven children in a Mormon family and grew up in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse in central New Jersey. After moving to Provo, Utah, at the age of ten, she spent a year abroad at a German Gymnasium during high school. In 1988, she was named one of twelve female "Ezra Taft Benson Scholars," the highest award offered by Brigham Young University, for her academic scholarship, service, and dedication to the Mormon church. She then went on to earn a Master's Degree in German Literature from Brigham Young University in 1990, at the age of nineteen.
Harrison is an accomplished writer, with her first book, "The Monster in Me," published in 2002, followed by "Mira, Mirror" in 2004, "The Princess and the Hound" in 2007, and its sequel, "The Princess and the Bear," in 2009. She has also written a memoir, "Ironmom," about the loss of her sixth child in 2005 and her subsequent training for an Ironman competition. In addition to her writing, Harrison is an avid triathlon participant, having completed four full Ironman competitions, more than one hundred total races, and is ranked #144 for her age group nationally in triathlon. She also trains her husband and children in triathlon and has five children, now ages eleven to twenty, who are all involved in various sports and activities.
Harrison is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served in various callings within the church, including Gospel Doctrine teacher, member of the Primary Presidency, aid for an autistic child, Primary instructor, and leader for the 8-11-year-old girls. She currently works in her ward nursery and her husband serves with the scouts. Harrison can be found on the web at metteivieharrison.com, Twitter at @metteharrison, Tumblr at metteivieharrison.tumblr.com, and on Youtube with her "Ugly Ironman" vlogs. She frequently writes and blogs about depression, health and fitness, and questions about doctrines of the Mormon church regarding family and women.