Barbara Ladouceur earned a BA in English and Women's Studies at the University of Victoria in 1989. She then travelled to York, England to study women's life writings in the Women's Studies programme at the University of York. In 1990, she graduated with an MA in Women's Studies and returned to Canada. She now resides in Vancouver where she works as an ESL teacher and freelance editor.

Phyllis Spence studied sociology and psychology at the University of Victoria, graduating in 1989. While at university, she and Barbara Ladouceur became interested in oral histories and this eventually led to their collaboration in the bestseller, Blackouts to Bright Lights: Canadian War Bride Stories (1995). Phyllis currently works in a hospital staffing department and an evening program for seniors in Victoria.