Carolyn Gossage was born and educated in Toronto. After studying Modern Languages (French and German) at the University of Toronto, she spent a year at La Sorbonne in Paris. This experience was followed by seven years at the Institute of Child Study (U of T) and subsequently at the National Ballet School. In 1977, her first book, A Question of Privilege: Canada's Independent Schools, was published, and in 1979, at Jane Rule's suggestion, she became a member of the newly-formed Writers' Union of Canada. She has since written several works of non-fiction. These include Greatcoats & Glamour Boots: Canadian Women in Uniform 1939-45 and Double Duty. The latter book incorporated the wartime sketches and diaries of Molly Lamb Bobak - Canada's first official woman war artist. Her lifelong interest in art eventually led her to become involved in an entirely different direction in the field of Ethiopian Art. In 2000 in collaboration with Professor Stanislaw Chojnacki, a significant work, Ethiopian Icons, was published in Milan. Gossage and Jane Rule began their extensive correspondence over 30 years ago.