was born Amalina Louise Ruth Baker in Hargrove, Oklahoma. Her dad is a farmer and her mom is a rural schoolteacher. Her paternal grandmother was a small-time country banker's daughter from Roscoe, Texas, whose father never forgave her for marrying a godforsaken Oklahoma sharecropper.

Her maternal grandparents were a little better off, sturdy Kentuckian dirt farmers-turned-contractors who moved to Oklahoma and made a comfortable living off of government contracts during the Depression.

From these modest beginnings, Amy earned a scholarship to Smith, where she found culture and embiggened her soul without forgetting her crumulent roots.

Carrying on in her mother's noble footsteps, Miss Amy is moving to Italy to learn about the Reggio Approach while teaching rugrats.