The author was born in Michigan in 1930. After moving to Massachusetts with her family, graduating from Boston University with a degree in psychology, and marrying, she taught sixth grade for a few years until motherhood became her full time career. It was during her teaching years, while teaching history, that she gained an appreciation for the Civil War letters that had been in her family for generations. She is the mother of two, the grandmother of two, and lives with her husband on Cape Cod.