Laurie Halse Anderson was born on October 23, 1961. She still lives in her birth town, Potsdam, New York close to the border of Canada. At birth it was Laurie Beth Halse, but she got married so, she changed her middle name to her last name and took his last name. She was inspired to write from her second grade teacher showing her how cool writing was during a haiku lesson. She read all the time. She was awful at math, but then, lots of creative people are, and she has gotten over it. Historical fiction was her favorite when she was little, and as a teenager she most enjoyed science fiction and fantasy. Despite the haiku, Laurie didn't think she would be a writer, but a doctor. While her biology teacher may have found this to be plausible,
