Debra Bowling grew up in Northeast Alabama with a love of books and writing. After graduating from The University of Alabama, she worked in social work, community affairs and development for nonprofit organizations while also writing articles and stories, taking photographs, and producing video documentaries. She was a Finalist in the 1989 Home Town USA Video Festival for Stories of Survival, which was also screened by Amnesty International and Image Film & Video the same year. Her documentary, Walking Without Music: Raymond Andrews and the Storyteller's Tradition, was purchased by Emory University to include with his papers in a special collection. The Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs awarded Bowling a grant in 1991 to produce three short documentaries on southern writers, Tina McElroy Ansa, Terry Kay, and Sara Flannigan. Bowling has published articles, poetry, and creative nonfiction in smaller publications. The Memory of Flight is her first novel, published in December 2014 by Little Feather Books.