Wallace Wiens grew up inspired by strong women. The author is a direct descendent of the women portrayed in this book. Born in Uruguay in South America, the author and translator emigrated to Canada in the late 1960’s. After attending university in southern Germany, she worked for the helicopter manufacturer, Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm GmbH, in Canada and in Dallas, Texas. In the late 1990’s, she moved to New York to attend law school at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She completed her legal internship as Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The author currently lives in southern Ontario with her two dogs and a ferocious feline named Simone. Her legal practice in Buffalo, NY, focuses on family law.