About

Lisa Norman was born and raised in beautiful Dalton, Georgia. She is so grateful to have grown up in a small southern town surrounded by so many special family members and friends. In Dalton, no matter where you go, you are bound to run into people you know and be greeted with warmth and southern hospitality at its best!

Lisa grew up with her parents and her sister, Dori, who is now “famous” for her Twisted Fork poundcakes. Her grandmother, “Mama,” lived in an apartment building she could see from her backyard. Lisa walked through the woods to her grandmother's house almost every day to visit. They laughed, played games, painted each other’s nails, and drank plenty of southern sweet tea!

When she was five, Lisa taught herself how to read and write with Dr. Seuss books. She loved the rhyme in the books, so she memorized the words and learned to sound out the letters. She began writing poems when she was six, using four key materials for her books of poetry: construction paper, yarn, a hole punch, and markers. Her grandmother would invite her friends over to listen to Lisa’s poems. Sometimes her friends, especially one named Charlotte, would make similar “books” to give to Lisa. That’s when her love for writing truly began.

Lisa attended Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina and earned a B.A. with a double major in Speech/Communications and Spanish. She was an exchange student in both Argentina and Spain, having a lifelong passion for the Hispanic culture and language. At the end of her college career, Lisa developed an interest in medicine and went to Emory University School of Medicine to earn her medical degree. She completed a five-year residency program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and currently works as a general surgical pathologist.

Lisa met her husband at Wake Forest and has four children ranging in age from elementary school to college. While the character of Ellie is based on her oldest daughter named Ellie, Lisa has taught all of her kids about HOPE, LOVE, RESPECT, and JOY, and now shares these lessons in her “Ellie Asks” books. Her greatest hope is for her children to be happy, healthy, compassionate, and spread kindness wherever they go. Most of all, Lisa treasures the relationship she has with each child as this is the most important and rewarding element of parenting.

Lisa has had a lifelong passion for dance and enjoyed performing in dance companies both in her hometown and at Wake Forest. She still dances to this day and finds dance a beautiful form of self-expression and sense of freedom. Additionally, it has been a thrill for Lisa to watch her two daughters dance throughout the years. She also enjoys spending time with friends, playing piano, volunteering, watching her children play sports, reading, traveling, pilates, and many forms of exercise.