Judith Strasser was born September 30, 1944, in New York City. She was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received her B.A. in history from Reed College, Portland, Oregon in 1966, and her master's in communications research from Stanford University in 1972. She married Steve Ela in 1972, had her first son Jed Ela in 1975, and her second son Nate in 1978. Strasser and her family moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1976.
She was the author of several books including Black Eye: Escaping a Marriage, Writing a Life (2004), a semi-autobiographical novel which draws from her personal journals and focuses on the year leading up to Strasser leaving her husband. She also wrote a novel titled Fear Itself: Cancer and Politics, Courage and Hope [published as Facing Fear: Meditations on Cancer and Politics, Courage, and Hope] (2008), and three separate volumes of poetry. Strasser was also the co-founder of the Madison Children's Museum in 1980, raising money for its first location on South Bedford Street and in hiring its first full-time staff member.
Judith Strasser was treated for Hodgkin's Disease from 1981 to 1982 with chemotherapy and radiation. In 2005 she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, probably a consequence of radiation therapy. On January 29, 2009, she died in Madison, Wisconsin.
