Dorothy B. Anderson was born in Marburg, Germany, and went to China as an infant during the Nazi era. Her parents were physicians of German-Jewish background. They lived in Wuhan, China during the Japanese occupation. Her mother died there. Dorothy and her family came to America in 1948. She lived in Franconia, New Hampshire for 15 years and was on the board of directors of the Frost Place. She is a family therapist, is married to a tree farmer, and has two grown children.