Emery was born in Los Angeles where her parents had gone in search of employment after being displaced from their home in Washington state by a crop failure.

Emery grew up as a rancher's daughter in Montana after her parents moved there during her infancy (her father, Carl Harshbarger, had worked as chauffeur for Dorothy Lamour in Los Angeles for about two years, and had saved enough funds to buy some land there).

Carla married constitutionalist legal scholar (with a special interest in Title 18, Oath of Office) Donald DeLong November 25, 2000 and moved to San Simon, Arizona.

The author believed that it might set a record for the most typographical errors in a book of its size, but reported that she did not have time to count them.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living presents an exhaustive overview of virtually every topic relevant to homesteading and self-sufficiency.