Vivian grew up in the mountains of California and attended the University of California, Irvine, where she got her B.A. in English and and MS in English at The Ohio State University, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, specializing in American literature and popular culture. She works as an associate professor of English at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Narratively, O: The Oprah Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Alaska Magazine, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, KROnline, Zone 3, The Ilanot Review, Silk Road Review, Easy Street Magazine, The Pinch, and other publications. One of her pieces, "Under the Gun," was listed as a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2007. She has authored a memoir, Fiddle: One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music (Citadel-Kensington, 2010); a full-length poetry collection, Raising (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, 2018); and several poetry chapbooks, The Village (Aldrich Press-Kelsay Books, 2017), Making (Origami Poems Project, 2018), and Curiosities (Unsolicited Press, 2018). Her passions include yoga, meditation, and journaling workshops in the region.