I grew up in an extended San Francisco Bohemian family of photographers. Some used their photographs to bear witness to the problems in our world, eager to create social change. Others wanted to capture moments of stillness and beauty. This was a world where creative muses flourished. My muse found me quickly and gave me the joy of words.

Infusing all my writing are these yin-and-yang opposites of enjoying transcendent beauty and yet bearing witness to hard times. I write about artists of all kinds: photographers, musicians, and painters. I’m drawn to pivotal moments in our American history that have been erased from our narrative.

The author of eighteen books, including Seen and Unseen, Boots on the Ground, and Marching to Freedom. She's also written more in-depth biographies on Dorothea Lange, Woody Guthrie, and John Lennon.

Her books have received many honors, including National Book Award Finalist, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Michael L. Printz Honor, SCBWI Golden Kite Award, School Library Journal's Battle of the Books, and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

Elizabeth Partridge graduated with a degree in Women's Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and later studied traditional Chinese medicine. She was an acupuncturist for more than twenty years before closing her medical practice to write full-time.