Born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Mike and Sydney Green on August 24, 1977, John Michael Green's draws on his childhood experience for many of his characters.
I was extremely fortunate. My parents loved and encouraged me; my brother was empathetic and supportive; my friends (when I had them) were lots of fun without being too dangerous. That said, due to some malfunctioning brain chemistry and also due just to the nature of being a person, I often felt isolated and alone and scared. I was quite nerdy and dearly wished that I could be popular. I think I was quite difficult to be around–my insecurity and anxiety made it difficult for me to have straightforward, engaging social interactions with anyone, and I was really super self-absorbed" (Green, n.d.). …show more content…
Green describes John the student as "a crap student: I didn't read; I didn't participate; I didn't turn in papers, or when I did, it was embarrassingly obvious I hadn't read the books" (Green, n.d.). When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to Indian Springs, a boarding school in Alabama where he thrived. From there he went on to graduate with a B.A. in English and Religious Studies from Kenyon College in Ohio.
John has always wanted to be an author but felt that was an unrealistic goal. He had thought of going to divinity school, and worked for six months as an apprentice chaplain at a children’s hospital in Columbus but "found the experience almost too sad to bear, and decided that such a life was not for him" (Talbot, 2014). It was not until he was in his 20's working for Booklist that it occurred to him that he could be an author and in 2005 his book Looking for Alaska was
I was extremely fortunate. My parents loved and encouraged me; my brother was empathetic and supportive; my friends (when I had them) were lots of fun without being too dangerous. That said, due to some malfunctioning brain chemistry and also due just to the nature of being a person, I often felt isolated and alone and scared. I was quite nerdy and dearly wished that I could be popular. I think I was quite difficult to be around–my insecurity and anxiety made it difficult for me to have straightforward, engaging social interactions with anyone, and I was really super self-absorbed" (Green, n.d.). …show more content…
Green describes John the student as "a crap student: I didn't read; I didn't participate; I didn't turn in papers, or when I did, it was embarrassingly obvious I hadn't read the books" (Green, n.d.). When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to Indian Springs, a boarding school in Alabama where he thrived. From there he went on to graduate with a B.A. in English and Religious Studies from Kenyon College in Ohio.
John has always wanted to be an author but felt that was an unrealistic goal. He had thought of going to divinity school, and worked for six months as an apprentice chaplain at a children’s hospital in Columbus but "found the experience almost too sad to bear, and decided that such a life was not for him" (Talbot, 2014). It was not until he was in his 20's working for Booklist that it occurred to him that he could be an author and in 2005 his book Looking for Alaska was