Best-selling author Jerilyn Bozarth Dufresne is the oldest in a family of nine children, which is where she got the inspiration for the Darling Family-although her siblings fight a lot more and have cornered the market on sarcasm. She returned to her hometown of Quincy, Illinois after having lived a nomadic life in her middle years. Jerilyn currently works as an outpatient therapist at a local mental health clinic and teaches at Quincy University. She and her dog Gus live with, and are tolerated by, two cats.