Graduated from Palm Harbor University High School in Palm Harbor, Florida; graduated summa cum laude from Florida Atlantic University in 2007 with a degree in Anthropology.

After backpacking through at least a dozen countries on a pauper's per diem, Tanya was killed while a passenger in a single car crash. She kept copious journals of her life's journeys, which reveal her struggles, tears, triumphs, amazing self-motivation and spiritual growth while on her quest to attain "my elusive and ever-changing soul-search
for a more open-minded happiness."