Priscilla Gilman grew up in New York City and received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in English and American literature from Yale University. She was a professor of English literature at both Yale and Vassar College before leaving academia in 2006. She has published numerous academic articles, chaired panels and lectured at literary and early childhood conferences, and taught poetry to inmates in a restorative justice program. She lives with her two sons in New York City. This is her first book.