Heather Murray was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, but grew up in the United States, where she attended Harvard University. She has spent most of her adult life in Switzerland, lecturing at the universities of Bern and Zurich, training English teachers and doing research in applied linguistics. An avid traveler, Murray sometimes hikes or cycles long distances within the countries she visits. She first traveled to Cuba as part of her work, but has returned several times since to explore the country and meet its people.