Harlan spent her childhood immersed in academia, travel, and art. She is inspired by the literature of T.S Elliot, Sylvia Plath, Han Kang, and Joan Didion, and the paintings of Amadeo Modigliani and Gustav Klimt. Drawn to stories about innocence, trauma, rage, morality, and love, she believes in the power of literature and image to evoke empathy globally. She strives to apply her anthropological education to contribute to the literary industry and impact modern culture, such as with her two literary fiction novels in the works:
She is currently editing an anticipated novel with Molly Zakoor, editor for Ruth Ozeki— a reparatory story of the daughter of a geisha born on the same day as the Hiroshima bomb, who goes on to narrate a complex love story; the following release will be a series of short stories— a psychological tale of an American single mother against the backdrop of culturally rich New Orleans.
