Kathy Akopov Guillory grew up in the USSR and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was nine years old. She struggled to make friends at a new school in an entirely new country and leaned on her grandma, Baba Emma, for support, which inspired this book. By day, she is a marketing consultant who lives in Maine with her husband, Chris; daughters, Emma and Eleanor; and their two dogs, Half Pint and Dr. Watson.