Laura Hillenbrand (born May 15, 1967) is an American author. Her two bestselling nonfiction books, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (2001) and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010), have sold over 13 million copies, and each was adapted for film. Her writing style is distinct from New Journalism, dropping "verbal pyrotechnics" in favor of a stronger focus on the story itself.
Hillenbrand fell ill in college and was unable to complete her degree. She shared that experience in an award-winning essay, A Sudden Illness, published in The New Yorker in 2003. Her books were written while she was disabled by myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. In a 2014 interview, Bob Schieffer said to Laura Hillenbrand: "To me your story – battling your disease... is as compelling as his (Louis Zamperini's) story."
Equus editors were impressed by Hillenbrand's dedication to her research and getting to the essence of a story. Consequently, she produced some of the magazine's most powerful stories. Many of these stories would provide her with the perfect preparation for the book she would eventually write. One in particular, Of Love and Loss, from Equus 238, was a special report exploring the dimensions of grief associated with the death of a horse. Hillenbrand recalled:
<blockquote>“That was one of my favorites. I learned so much about how an animal’s passing is unique, and it was gratifying because the story was so well received by EQUUS readers. In fact, I still occasionally hear from people who were touched by it.” She first covered the subject in an essay, "Four Good Legs Between Us", that was published in American Heritage magazine. Given positive feedback, she decided to proceed to write a full-length book.</blockquote>
The book received positive reviews for the storytelling and research. It was adapted as the film Seabiscuit, nominated for Best Picture of 2003 at the 76th Academy Awards.
Hillenbrand's second book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010), was a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini, an Olympian track runner. The book's film adaptation is called Unbroken (2014).
These two books topped the best seller lists in both hardback and paperback. Combined, they sold more than 10 million copies, which was reported in 2016 to have increased to over 13 million copies.
Hillenbrand is a co-founder of Operation International Children.
Hillenbrand spent much of her childhood riding bareback "screaming over the hills" of her father's Sharpsburg, Maryland farm. She studied at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio but was forced to leave before graduation when she contracted chronic fatigue syndrome, with which she has struggled ever since. In 2014, they separated after 28 years as a couple, living in separate homes.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
At Kenyon College, Hillenbrand had been an avid tennis player, cycler, and football player. "Terrified, confused, she dropped out of school" and her sister drove her home. essay, A Sudden Illness in 2003. The disease structured her life as a writer, keeping her mainly confined to her home. She read old newspaper articles by buying the old newspapers or borrowing them from libraries, rather than using microfilm or other forms of archived news articles, and did all her live interviews by telephone.
On the irony of writing about physical paragons while being so incapacitated herself, Hillenbrand said, "I'm looking for a way out of here. I can't have it physically, so I'm going to have it intellectually. It was a beautiful thing to ride Seabiscuit in my imagination. And it's just fantastic to be there alongside Louie as he's breaking the NCAA mile record. People at these vigorous moments in their lives – it's my way of living vicariously." By the time of her January 2015 interview with Ken Rosen, her ability to function had improved after hitting a real low during the writing of Unbroken; she increased her ability to walk down her stairs by taking one step and returning to bed, then some days later, two steps, until she could go down the whole staircase, a process that took several months. When Rosen and his crew met her, she was not having trouble with her balance or with vertigo. When asked about her health, she reported having myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.), formerly called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Vertigo has been a serious problem for her, so that she had not left Washington D. C. since 1990 because of it. After a disciplined effort to tolerate riding in a car, starting at five minutes and increasing to two hours over two years, she was able to drive out of Washington D. C. after 25 years. She is not cured, "I was not well. I am not well. I am always dealing with symptoms," [emphasis in original].