Elena Gorokhova grew up in Leningrad, Russia, and at the age of twenty-four came to the United States with only a twenty-kilogram suitcase to start a new life. She is the author of two memoirs published by Simon & Schuster, A Mountain of Crumbs (2009) and Russian Tattoo (2015). She has a Doctorate in Language Education and currently lives and teaches in New Jersey. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, on BBC Radio, and in a number of literary magazines.