Margaret Grguric Smolik and her family escaped Croatia during World War II and came to the United States in 1952. The author earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Drake University, Des Moines, ...view moreMargaret Grguric Smolik and her family escaped Croatia during World War II and came to the United States in 1952. The author earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, and is a longtime teacher of English and writing. She is a certified copy editor and author of several poems published in Lyrical Iowa. Margaret and her husband raised four children. She currently lives in Osage, Iowa.view less