Mrs. Donna Winnett Guthrie was born on May 15, 1946, in Amity, Pennsylvania. During her childhood, her family often described her as a “bookworm”. After graduating from Trinity High School in 1964, she went on to attend Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She initially majored in journalism and earned a bachelor's degree in 1968. However, instead of going into journalism for a career, she decided to honor her parents’ wishes and become a teacher. While teaching, she met her husband, Mike, whom she married in 1973. She returned to school at the University of Vermont to earn a master's degree in children and young adult writing, where her love of and talent for writing flourished.

Over the years, her writing has taken many different forms. She has written magazine articles, personal essays, and short plays. She published a newspaper and even produced several of the plays she wrote. She is now the author of 23 books and 60 educational videos. She also offers many other sources of entertainment, such as her podcast, “Looking Back on Music Now,” where she lectures on the history of country music. She is also the co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival. Recently, she has joined her son, Colin, in making documentaries.