Brenda Ethridge Ferguson grew up on a livestock ranch in Mills County, Texas, where she and her two older brothers were raised amongst Hereford cows, Suffolk sheep, Angora goats, the occasional pig or chicken, and the thousands of turkeys they ranged in the summertime. When she grew up, she went on to teach at the secondary and college levels and served as a librarian and library coordinator in public schools. After her husband retired, Brenda and her family returned to her roots. She now lives on a ranch with her husband and their cows in Mills County.