U R Israel received her B A from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Masters in Education from Antioch First Peoples Program in Seattle, WA. She lived for twenty-six years in a commune in the Cascade Mountains where she was a den mother, advocate, and serious bumbler for the children, along with being a storyteller. She gained the art of storytelling from her Father who by oral tradition was Native American. Currently she lives in the North West and with her friend created a foundation to aid and support the children now adults born into the commune. She acknowledges that the dreams, ideals and hopes, of the Hippies, became mixed with hardships, abuse but also bonding to each other for the children.