PATTY DANN was cited by New York magazine as one of the "Great Teachers of NYC." She has an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and a BA from the University of Oregon. She has taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the West Side YMCA, where she currently teaches memoir classes. Her class used to be limited to students ages fifty-five and over because she found that it often took decades for people to write the truth, but now she opens her classes to all ages. Dann is the author of three novels, including Mermaids, which was turned into a film starring Cher, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, and Bob Hoskins, and two memoirs. She lives in New York City.