For
me, being a writer was never a choice. I
was born one. All through my childhood I
wrote short stories and stuffed them in drawers. I wrote on everything. I didn’t do my homework so I could write.”
– Laura Hillenbrand
Hillenbrand, born on this date in
1967, became the writer she felt destined to be, telling stories about two
amazing sports figures from the 1930s; one the great horse Seabiscuit, the
other the great Olympian Louis Zamperini.
The first story became a bestselling
book and award-winning movie simply called Seabiscuit. The second, one of the most gripping reads of
the past decade, was called Unbroken.
These two books dominated bestseller lists in both hardback and paperback.
Combined, they have sold more than 13 million copies.
Hillenbrand, as she says above, was
born to be a writer, and that meant writing through some of the most
debilitating pain and isolation a person might ever experience. Confined to her home for years because of
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, she still pressed on and created remarkable
works. And, she says being confined
while writing helped her live her stories more completely in her mind, and she
believes made them more interesting and exciting. 
As she was writing, she said, “I’m
looking for a way out. 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.”
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