Author Bio

               

                Sherman Alexie was born in 1966 on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He was born with a rare brain condition called Hydrocephalus, causing him to undergo surgery as an infant. He was not expected to survive the surgery, and if he did, they thought it would cause irreparable brain damage. He survived, and exceeded everyone's expectations by being able to read at age three, and then completing The Grapes of Wrath by age five.

                After finding his mother’s name in a school text book issued to him, he realized that his school books were incredibly outdated, and he decided to attend high school off the reservation. He believed he would receive a better education at Reardon High School. He excelled both academically and athletically at his new school, where he also received his inspiration for his first novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.          

                Alexie then went on to Gonzaga with a full scholarship, and then transferred to WSU after two years where he sought to earn a Pre Med degree. However, after suffering through several fainting spells, Alexie changed his major to American Studies. After graduating with his BA he received the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship.
               

                He resides with his wife and two sons in Seattle Washington.