Mary Helen Dement was born in Texas in 1939. She married and began traveling with her U.S.A.F. husband in 1960.The couple’s three daughters were born during their seven-years of military life. Her art career began in 1972, and her journal-poetry-writing began in 1982. After a 30-year absence, Mary returned to college–receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1994. When Dreams and Daughters Die, a memoir of her middle daughter, is the author’s first book. She and her retired airline-pilot husband live in North Texas.