Em Lyons Bouch is a high school English teacher in Pittsburgh. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in English and Anthropology. The first draft of this book was written as her senior thesis. She went on to earn a master's degree in education through Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), teaching for two years in Montgomery, Alabama. Em is currently a group leader for Recovery International and has been a group member since 2006. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Damian.