Lynn York was born in the Piedmont of North Carolina in 1957. She grew up in foothills of the Blue Ridge in Pilot Mountain, NC in a family of car dealers. Her family, in search of a larger GM franchise, moved her to High Point, NC just in time for a high school career as a notorious journalist and marching band member. She was educated at Duke University where she earned an undergraduate degree in English and French. She was employed briefly as a textbook sales representative before seeking refuge at the University of Texas at Austin where she received a graduate business degree and for good measure, a Master's degree in communications policy. She lived in Washington, DC, working in the international telecommunications industry until small children and the promise of decent vegetables and a yard with grass brought her back to North Carolina in 1995, where she found The Piano Teacher waiting for her. She lives now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her two children, Anna Lee and Will.