title: Tess Uriza Holthe
text: # Tess Uriza Holthe
  
  Tess Uriza Holthe is a Filipino-American writer, who was born and raised in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco and is best known for her nationally bestselling novel When the Elephants Dance.
  
  ## Biography
  
  Holthe graduated from Golden Gate University in 1996 with a degree in accounting. While working full-time as an accountant, she began writing her first novel When the Elephants Dance during lunch breaks, evenings, and weekends.
  
  When the Elephants Dance is inspired in part by her father's experiences growing up in the Philippines during World War II.
  
  