Jaber F. Gubrium is Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida. He is editor of the Journal of Aging Studies and the author or editor of twenty books, including Oldtimers and Alzheimer's (1986), Speaking of Life (1993), and Living and Dying at Murray Manor (1997).

James A. Holstein is Professor of Sociology at Marquette University. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Court-Ordered Insanity (1993), Reconsidering Social Constructionism (1993), and Social Problems in Everyday Life (1997). He also is co-editor of the research annual Perspectives on Social Problems.

The editors have previously collaborated on What is Family? (1990), The Active Interview (1995), The New Language of Qualitative Method (1997), Constructing the Life Course (2000), and The Self We Live By (2000).