Andrew Solomon
A writer who plunges into the depths of human difference, from depression to family, crafting monumental studies that redefine how we see adversity.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American writer·Birthday: October 30·Baby Boomers
Biography
Andrew Solomon writes from the intersection of the personal and the universal, turning intimate struggle into public understanding. After establishing himself as a sharp cultural critic, he turned inward following a severe depressive episode, an experience that spawned his masterwork, 'The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression.' The book, which won the National Book Award, blended memoir, reportage, and science with breathtaking empathy. This set the template for his life's project: exploring how families accommodate profound difference. In 'Far From the Tree,' he spent a decade interviewing parents of children born deaf, with dwarfism, or who were prodigies or criminals, arguing that we often love what we do not expect. Solomon's voice—erudite, compassionate, and stubbornly hopeful—has made him a leading thinker on mental health, identity, and the forging of meaning from hardship. He writes and lectures not just to inform, but to build a more generous world.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Andrew was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andrew Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Andrew's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for 'The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression' in 2001.
- Authored the landmark study 'Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity,' which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was adapted into a documentary.
- Is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University Medical Center and a founding director of The Solomon Research Lab in LGBT Mental Health.
- His TED Talk on depression has been viewed millions of times and is considered a definitive lecture on the subject.
Did You Know?
He is a fluent speaker of Russian and has written extensively on post-Soviet art and culture.
He is a dedicated activist for LGBT rights and served on the board of the LGBTQ media organization GLAAD.
He is an avid orchid grower and has written about the hobby for The New Yorker.
His book 'Far From the Tree' took eleven years to research and write.
“The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality.”
