Leilani Squire was born on the island of Oahu while her father was deployed on an aircraft carrier to Okinawa during the Korean War. The family moved to California when she was a toddler. She has lived in Southern California most of her life where she has pursued a life in the arts. She began writing about the wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq in 2005. In 2010, Leilani started teaching writing workshops for veterans and returning soldiers. One of her students placed 2nd in the Personal Experience, Patriotic category for the 2011 Department of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. Her student gave her his silver medal, which is one of the highest honors she has ever received. Returning Soldiers Speak: An Anthology of Prose and Poetry by Soldiers and Veterans is Leilani’s first published book.