Ross Gay is the author and narrator of these autobiographical essays. He was born in 1974 in Youngstown, Ohio, but spent most of his childhood in Levittown, Pennsylvania, which features in many of his essays. He and his brother grew up in near poverty, an experience he references frequently. He is the second son of a white mother and a Black father, which influences his experiences as a Black man in the United States and informs his understanding of societal and political events. He is a poet, author, and professor of English at Indiana University. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Poetry, the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award, and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, all for his poetry collection Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. He is 42 at the start of the book and 43 at the end.

Personally and professionally, Gay is a student of joy, and his works are focused on the effects of joy, gratitude, and delight. From his essays, one can see his focused social intelligence and emotional awareness. Many of his essays describe his emotional state surrounding current events, his childhood, and his present circumstances. He is a loving son to his elderly mother, a kind partner and stepfather, and an enthusiastic and supportive friend.