Michael Lav­i­gne stud­ied at Millersville State Col­lege and the Uni­ver­si­ty of Chica­go, where he did grad­u­ate work on the Com­mit­tee on Social Thought. His first nov­el, Not Me, received the Sami Rohr Choice Award. Lav­i­gne is a founder of the Tauber Jew­ish Stud­ies Pro­gram at Con­gre­ga­tion Emanu-El in San Fran­cis­co, and spent three years work­ing in the Sovi­et Union.