Ruth Ann Ingraham, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has a BS degree in French and political science from Purdue University. A naturalist and native plant advocate, she is the author of the memoir Swimming with Frogs: Life in the Brown County Hills (Indiana University Press, 2005), which interweaves observations of nature with reflections on life and love. She is cofounder of the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society and the Brown County Native Woodlands Project, and she is involved in the Indianapolis Woman’s Club, a literary organisation founded in 1875, in which active members biannually write and read papers on topics of their choosing.