An American author, born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to a mother who worked as a nurse and a father who was a lawyer. She joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille in 1957 before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English and Education from St. Mary's Dominican College in 1962, in addition to a master's degree in religious education from Saint Paul University, a college affiliated with the University of Ottawa. She then taught in high school. She also played a role in helping families of crime victims through volunteer work. She's known for Dead Man Walking (1995) and The Barrel of a Gun (2010).