From restraining orders, countless rejections to severe depression… she’s seen it all. And never gave up.
J.K. Rowling is one of the most famous and successful contemporary authors in the world, thanks to Harry Potter. But before she became successful, she had gone through so many hardships, most people do not have to deal with in their lifetime. But that did not break her. On the contrary; she was able to use it as fuel for her success.
Rowling had a normal childhood. But that she was special, became clear soon. As a young girl she had shown she has a remarkably creative mind, writing bed time stories for her sister.
When she finished college, she studied Classics and moved to Portugal to work as an English language teacher.
Her problems started in Portugal. When she lived there, her baby girl was born. She left the baby’s father, a journalist with whom she lived together briefly and moved to England. He followed to her new home, and she had to get a restraining order to be left alone.
When she started writing Harry Patter, her mother became seriously ill. She suffered from MS for many years. Her mom never got to know about Harry Potter. which is something J.K. Rowling regrets till today.
After everything that happened to her, she was unable to find a job and suffered from severe depression. Once she showed first signs of recovery, she started to work on her first book.
Rowling wrote dementors to represent that depression she felt.
"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them… Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself… soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."
After she finished her first Harry Potter book, this did not yet end the challenges she had to face. She approached a large number of book publishers, and she was turned down again and again.
Finally… incredible success
Once she got her first book published, her road to success seems to have no limits. According to Fortune she is one of the wealthiest modern authors. But in 2016 she fell off the Fortunes Billionaire list. And we love that. That is to say; we love the reason why. She’s no longer on the list – not because she would not be successful anymore -but because she has donated so much of her wealth that she no longer meets the 1 billion US dollar mark.
From best seller to philanthropist
Now Rowling has no money issues anymore, she’s supporting numerous good causes.
In 2000, she founded the Volant Charitable Trust. Its main purpose is to alleviate social deprivation across Scotland, particularly supporting women, children and young people at risk.
She also supports many other NGOs like Comic Relief, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Lumos.
She’s now a celebrity known in every corner of the world. But if there is one lesson we can all learn from her, it is that you should never give up on your dream, and work relentlessly to turn it into reality.
Help some of the world’s most vulnerable children
Lumos works to support the 8 million children in institutions worldwide to regain their right to a family life and to end the institutionalisation of children. And they can do with your support.