Harayda was born on July 31, 1949, in
New Brunswick, New Jersey, to John and Marel Harayda. She attended the
University of New Hampshire and received a
cum laude Bachelor of Arts degree. Harayda enjoys listening to opera, watching theater, doing ballet, traveling, and dancing. In 1974, Harayda was responsible for starting an all-woman church service at Park Avenue Methodist Church in New York City. She once said that her
Episcopal faith is the most important thing in her life. Harayda was an editorial assistant for the magazine
Mademoiselle and senior editor of the magazine
Glamour. In late 1981, while working as the editorial director for
Boston magazine, Harayda leveled sexual-harassment charges against the publication during an editorial meeting and was promptly fired. From 1981 to 1987, she was a freelance writer, and she was an editor for
The Plain Dealer from 1987 to 1998. She was editor-in-chief for
New Jersey Lifestyle Magazine in 1998. Harayda taught writing at
Marymount Manhattan College in 1977, journalism at
Boston University in 1979, and journalism at
Fordham University in 2005. She wrote the books
Women: A Book for Men (1979),
Titters (1979),
The Joy of Being Single (1986),
The Accidental Bride (1999), and
Manhattan on the Rocks (2004). ==Reception==