Karen Mehiel: Teetering

Business founder Karen Mehiel's debut novel, Teetering, is an emotionally-charged work of fiction that explores marriage, identity, ageing, anxiety, and the hidden costs of maintaining appearances within New York City’s upper social circles. Drawing inspiration from her own experiences, including careers in business, philanthropy, and community leadership, Mehiel introduces a strikingly candid literary voice.

Set against the backdrop of Manhattan high society, Teetering follows Allegra Christos as she prepares for her husband’s milestone birthday while quietly confronting the unraveling truths beneath their decades-long marriage. While fictionalized, the novel reflects themes familiar to Mehiel’s own life alongside her husband, businessman Dennis Mehiel, who is prominent in New York philanthropic and political circles. The book blends intimate storytelling with an unflinching look at the pressure to preserve the illusion of perfection.

Mehiel’s path to authorship followed a decades-long manufacturing career. After moving to New York City in 2000, she studied culinary arts, interior design, and fine art, later becoming majority owner of a New Jersey manufacturing business and founding Five Pillars Yoga on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. In 2024, she launched FLOK NYC (Feeling love and Owning Kindness), a community-centred on connection and wellness. Teetering marks the beginning of a new chapter for Mehiel as a novelist exploring relationships, vulnerability, and reinvention later in life.

“After years of balancing business, family, philanthropy, and the nonstop pace of New York, I felt a deep need to create something honest and meaningful,” Mehiel said. “I originally set out to write my husband’s biography, but my own voice and experiences slowly entered the story, and it evolved into a novel. Teetering became an exploration of the pressure so many people feel when they chase elusive perfection.”