Deborah Clark Ebel, the youngest daughter of Roy Howard French and Mildred Luffman French (both families with strong Tennessee roots), was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and moved to New England at the age of fourteen. Deborah's inate ability to relate easily to children and adolescents allowed her to easily gravitate into child and adolescent psychiatry after graduating from nursing school. She followed her nursing degree with a degree in psychology and then graduate study in child welfare and psychology. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in psychology. Deborah has travelled extensively throughout the United States and Europe and has worked with children and adolescents in a variety of facilities, ranging from religious organizations to government and private practices. Most of her work, however, has been done in inpatient psychiatric facilities. When not writing or conducting research, she works on her family's history (genealogy). The mother of three adult children, Deborah currently lives in Virginia.

Deborah has been licensed in, and has worked as, a registered nurse in Connecticut, Alaska, and Virginia. She belongs to the American Psychiatric Nurses' Association (APNA), the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and Cambridge Who's Who. She is proud member of First Families of Tennessee. Her written works have been published in The Hartford Courant's Northeast Magazine (Times Mirror) and Adolescence Magazine (Health Communications, Inc.) Her first book, The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis is now available online.