Emily Hahn, 1905-1997, was an American journalist and author. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1926, she became the first woman to receive a degree in mining engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to this accomplishment, Hahn was a talented writer. Her work caught the attention of The New Yorker, and she went on to write for the magazine from 1929 to 1996. She was most famous for her extensive travel, particularly to the Belgian Congo, Central Africa, and China. She published 52 books and over 200 articles, many of which focused on her life abroad, such as her memoir China to Me (1944). Hahn was also famous for her romance with head of British army intelligence Charles Boxer, 1904-2000, whom she married in 1945 and with whom she had two daughters, Carola and Amanda Boxer.

Ken Cuthbertson, 1951- , is a biographer from Ontario, Canada. He has worked as a journalist for publications in the US, UK, and Canada for over forty years. He has also written five books. Notable works include his 2017 book The Halifax Explosion: Canada's Worst Disaster and his biography of journalist John Gunther, Inside: The Biography of John Gunther.

In 1992, after completing his biography of John Gunther, Cuthbertson asked Emily Hahn if he could write a biography of her. This small file of letters relates to the project. The biography was published in 1998 with the title Nobody Said Not to Go: The Life, Loves, and Adventures of Emily Hahn.