Lesley Arfin was born in Syosset, Long Island, 1979. She is the author of Dear Diary, published in June 2007 by Vice. Dear Diary started as a column in Vice Magazine, originally written by author Lisa Gabrielle. Vice founder Gavin McInnes worked with Arfin on the book. She is the former Editor-in-chief for the last two issues of Missbehave Magazine.
The unique format of the book uses a diary entry transcribed from Arfin's actual diaries. She then adds an update to that entry, describing what happened since. The book differs from the column in that Arfin interviews her subjects and asks them about the past.