[2] Citkowitz grew up in London, England;[3] about her childhood, she said [she had a] "chaotic home life, lonely at times, although I met many interesting people.
[4] Citkowitz's maternal grandparents were Maureen Constance Guinness, an Anglo-Irish socialite, and Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, an English politician.
[12] Ether was picked as New York Times Editors' Choice and made it to The New Yorker's Book Club.
[13] Citkowitz stated that the purpose of the novel was to look into the "fragility of human existence" and the original story grew from the idea of "someone returning to their childhood home" that she then expanded upon.
[4] On 22 September 1990, Citkowitz married Julian Sands, an English actor;[17] after being introduced by John Malkovich.