Joyce Johnson was born in 1935. At the age of eight her family moved to Manhattan, to an apartment that landed her in the middle of the Beat Movement at an early age. Her parents wanted her to be a librettist, but she only ever had half her mind on the music. At the age of 16, she was accepted to Barnard College. There she befriended Elise Cowan, Allen Ginsberg's supposed girlfriend. The two became close friends, and Cowan introduced her to the literary world of the Beat Movement. After a huge fight with her family over abandoning her music, Johnson left home. Ginsberg introduced Johnson to Jack Kerouac in January of 1957, an introduction that would change her life and her career forever.… She published her first novel Come and Join the Dance at the age of 26, four years after her and Kerouac went their separate ways. Long after their separation, she published Minor Characters a book about her life in the Beat Movement and her romance with Jack Kerouac, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 1983. Her other works include Bad Connections, In the Night Caf�, Door Wide Open: A Beat Love Affair in Letters, 1957-1958, and Missing Men. In 1983, she became a faculty member of the graduate writing program at Columbia University.
Ann Douglas is an award-winning journalist and the author of 28 books including The Mother of All Pregnancy Books. Ann's various books are also available -- or forthcoming -- in China, Russia, Greece, Indonesia, and Finland. A parent educator and mother of four, Ann is also the co-author (with John R. Sussman, M.D.) of two other highly popular pregnancy books: The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby and Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss. Known for her lively anecdotes and real-world advice, Ann has also been a regular contributor to WebMD.com, PregnancyandBaby.com and Yahoo! Canada. Ann writes regular columns for Conceive Magazine, Living Spree,… Urban Baby and Toddler, City Parent and What's Up Kids?. She has also written for such publications as Today's Parent, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, and The Globe and Mail. She makes frequent appearances on both radio and television and is regularly quoted in such publications as Parenting, Parents, Fit Pregnancy, American Baby, and Working Mother. Ann lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband and four children. Visit www.having-a-baby.com or www.anndouglas.ca.