Esther Bonilla Read was born in Calvert, Texas. She graduated from Baylor University in 1958 and began teaching the same year. After four years of teaching, she married and stayed at home with her children for a few years. She went back to teaching and began writing in her spare time. She has been published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, the Dallas Morning News, the San Antonio Express-News, and the Amarillo Globe-News. Her stories and articles have been published in various anthologies: the TAMU at CC, the Corpus Christi Writers (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), and the book Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul, includes one of her stories. After the Blessing: Mexican American Veterans of WWII Tell Their Own Stories, published by TCU Press, is her most recent publication.