She was previously an editor at Rolling Stone, Gawker and The New York Observer and a senior writer at BuzzFeed.

[1][2] She is the author of the novel STARTUP and co-editor of the collection Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home.

Shafrir departed a history Ph.D. program to begin her career in journalism at Philadelphia Weekly, then joining the staff of Gawker in its early years.

[4] She and Grose produced a book based on the site, titled Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home, which was published by Hyperion in March 2009.

Her measured eye and wealth of understanding is clear in the rendering of characters like Isabel, an assistant who casually leaves her phone on a coffee table when she goes to the bathroom because the notion of someone snatching it is unthinkable, and Victor, an out-of-work boyfriend convinced he's smarter and more important than his employed partner.