Jan Drabek was born in Prague. His father was arrested by the Gestapo for his Resistance activities, survived Auschwitz and spent the rest of the war hiding in an insane asylum. In 1948 his family escaped on skis from the newly Communist Czechoslovakia, eventually making their way to the United States where he finished his schooling and served in the U.S. Navy. He has called various countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa his home while working as a taxi driver, refugee resettlement officer, high school teacher, radio broadcaster and an ambassador. Married with two daughters, he is the author of some 20 books, both in English and Czech. He conducts seminars on memoir and biography writing and has served three terms as President of the Federation of British Columbia Writers. He lives in Vancouver.