J.K. Rowling

Childhood Melancholy J.K. Rowling's childhood was not as beautiful as the magical world she created. She grew up in a quarrelsome household, with a hot-tempered father and a mother suffering from multiple sclerosis, and the bitter smell of medication and a stifling atmosphere often filled the home. At the age of six, she wrote her first story, "Rabbit," which became her first window to escape the pain of reality. At school, she was a quiet child, often sitting alone in a corner, weaving various strange stories. Adolescent Rebellion During her university years, Rowling chose to study French and classical literature, a decision more about escape than pursuit. She immersed herself in the romanticism of French literature, trying to find a world completely different from her family reality. However, her mother's deteriorating condition made it impossible for her to truly escape. In 1990, at the age of 25, while on a train from Manchester to London, an image of a boy with round glasses suddenly appeared in her mind—Harry Potter was born. A few months later, her mother passed away, a blow that nearly broke her but also deepened her understanding of loss and loneliness. Dark Valley While living in Portugal to teach English, she met her first husband. However, this marriage was filled with quarrels and violence. By the time she returned to England with her three-month-old daughter, Jessica, in 1993, she was a broke single mother. Living in a small apartment in Edinburgh and barely surviving on government assistance, she often wandered the streets with a baby stroller, then sat in cafés continuing to write Harry Potter. During that period, she suffered from severe depression and even contemplated suicide, but her responsibility towards her daughter and obsession with the story kept her going. The Difficult Path to Fame After completing the first draft of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in 1995, she embarked on a long journey of submissions. Twelve publishers rejected her manuscript, most claiming that "children wouldn't be interested in such a long book." Just as she was about to give up, an editor at Bloomsbury was finally moved by the magical story. In 1997, the first Harry Potter book was published, with an initial print run of just 1,000 copies. However, the enthusiastic response from readers quickly made her realize that she had created not just a story, but a magical world capable of healing countless lonely hearts. Struggles After Success With the enormous success of the Harry Potter series, Rowling transformed from a single mother on welfare into one of the richest authors in the world. However, the immense fame brought unexpected pressures. She began to fear going out, worried about being followed by the media, while also bearing the pressure of expectations from all sides. After completing the final installment of the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," in 2007, she experienced a severe sense of creative emptiness, as if she had lost the center of her life. Transition and Controversy In an effort to prove that she was more than just "Harry Potter's mom," she began experimenting with writing adult literature and published detective novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. However, in recent years, her comments on gender issues on social media sparked significant controversy and even led to some fans boycotting her. This made her feel deeply misunderstood and lonely, as if she had returned to the time when she was a single mother writing alone in a café.