Livia Abbott was born in Latvia, a small Baltic state situated between Russia and Germany. World War II and the subsequent Communist occupation interrupted her happy childhood. She fled to Germany and later immigrated to Canada. There, she married and gave birth to a son and a daughter. She worked as a volunteer in a Half-Way House with people who had lost the will to live. After divorcing her husband she married an American and moved to Maine, where she became a licensed insurance agent. She has taught yoga and relaxation, and her spare time is spent taking care of her extensive flower garden.