Carmen Earlington was born in Portland, Jamaica. She grew up with her grandparents, and was greatly influenced by their wisdom and wise counsel, delivered in no small part through many of the proverbs presented in this book. She believes that the wisdom gained from her grandparents has prepared her for living in a better and more practical way than any school or university she has ever attended. In her early years, she was also influenced by her godmother, a school teacher, who taught traditional folk dancing, folk music, and speech. These experiences did much to reveal to her the richness of the Jamaican culture, and to instill in her a love for the culture's traditions. It is this love for the traditions that has inspired her to write this book in an attempt to preserve the culture, while allowing readers to enjoy the humor, wit, and wisdom of a people who have, over the years, used the experiences of their everyday lives to create their unique culture, and tell it in a language all their own. Carmen earned her teaching credentials from Moneague Teachers' College and the University of the West Indies. She migrated to the United States in 1991. She earned a Masters Degree in Education from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She also obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from Towson University. Currently she resides with her husband in Upstate New York, where she continues her career as an educator in the Public School system. She is the mother of two grown children.