Bonnie Bowman Thurston was born in 1952 in southern West Virginia. She attended Bethany College and earned a B.A. in English. Thurston then went on to graduate work at the University of Virginia, earning M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English and Religious Studies. In addition, she has done post-doctoral work in the New Testament at Harvard Divinity School, Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany, and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.

Thurston went on to teach at a number of institutions; the majority of her teaching career was spent as Associate Professor of Theology at Wheeling Jesuit University (1985-1995) and as Professor of New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (1995-2002). She has also been a lecturer at various summer programs, retreats, and other events.

Thurston retired from teaching in 2002 to focus on writing. She has published extensively on theological subjects and also writes poetry. Thurston currently lives outside of Wheeling, West Virginia and has maintained a strong connection to her native state throughout her life.