The author was born near Whitby, North Yorkshire during the Second World War, and apart from boarding school and periods living where her father was stationed, grew up there; having left college she spent time as a Naval daughter in Malta, Portsmouth and the Far East. Although she has lived in London for many years, she still has strong emotional ties to Yorkshire. After marrying and having three children she trained as a teacher, spending almost two decades running the Nursery Department of a West London Primary School. Once retired, she pursued her love of academic study, gaining a degree in theology and religious studies. Her memoirs reflect her interest in her home and extended family, life in Yorkshire and in religion, especially Judaism. She is now caring for her elderly husband.