Adam Haslett
A contemporary writer whose psychologically acute fiction maps the intimate terrains of love, loss, and mental illness.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American writer and journalist·Birthday: December 24·Generation X
Biography
Adam Haslett emerged as a major voice in American fiction with a profound sensitivity to the inner lives of people grappling with emotional extremity. His debut, the short story collection 'You Are Not a Stranger Here,' announced a writer unafraid to explore depression, suicide, and familial bonds with both surgical precision and deep compassion. This thematic concern found its fullest expression in his second novel, 'Imagine Me Gone,' which traces the legacy of mental illness through a family over decades. Haslett’s prose is quiet, controlled, and devastatingly effective, earning him comparisons to masters of psychological realism. His work, often focused on the quiet crises of ordinary existence, has garnered significant critical recognition, placing him in the finals for literature’s highest honors. Beyond novels, his journalism and essays continue to engage with the political and social currents of American life, informed by his legal education at Yale.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Adam was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Adam Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Adam's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- His debut story collection, 'You Are Not a Stranger Here' (2002), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
- His novel 'Imagine Me Gone' (2016) was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
- Awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction in 2017 for 'Imagine Me Gone.'
- Received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Did You Know?
He earned a law degree from Yale Law School but chose to pursue writing full-time.
His first published story, 'Notes to My Biographer,' won a PEN/O. Henry Prize.
He has been a resident fellow at the American Academy in Berlin.
“The mind is a place that can turn against its own inhabitant.”
