Did you know that the creator of one of the most complex stories and universes was once diagnosed with clinical depression to the point where she was at the bridge of committing suicide?
Joanne Rowling was an early daydreamer, and a writer from the very tender age of six years old, when she wrote her first story about a rabbit called rabbit. Couple years later she wrote another one but this time was a science fiction piece about gems. Rowling grew up as an avid reader and a passionate writer to the point where she majored in English and French at the Exeter University.
Her early years were not easy; she was usually struggling with money. Her job as a teacher was not enough to cover her expenses. While working in Portugal in 1990 she met Jorge Arantes and married him, sadly the marriage couple ended up filing for divorce despite having a child together named Jessica.
The precarious situation put Joanne on the spot. She decided to fully commit to an idea that came up to her years before when she was at a train station. She came up with the Harry Potter concept and started writing her ideas in paper. Thousands of notes filled with information about characters, places, situations and spells, her education came in very handy while creating these last ones.
Many rejections came and went but she never gave up on her manuscript. Until one day, an agent from Bloomsbury picked it up from a pile because the name seemed appealing to him: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the title, which was later changed to Sorcerer for the American public, the rest is history.
Harry Potter is one of the most successful franchises today; having themed parks, movies and spin offs on the way. It is said that Rowling’s fortune is about 500 million Euros, maybe more.