Her book Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-America World was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
Hansen was born in Wall Township, New Jersey, to parents of Danish, Italian, and Irish descent.
[4] After earning her degree, she worked as an editor at The New York Observer until 2007, when she received a fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs to conduct research in Turkey.
[6] Her debut book about American misconceptions post 9/11 was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
[7] She also visited Greece, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan to investigate how American influence caused trouble and misfortune for civilians in these countries.