Sebold, Alice

American author Alice Sebold is probably best known for Lucky, an autobiographical account of a violent attack she endured as a college student, and The Lovely Bones, a fantasy novel which explores the thoughts and feelings of a girl called Susie Salmon. It is unusual because Susie is deceased and is telling her story from heaven. Although it is controversial for its challenges to conventional Christian ideas of death and the afterlife, the novel’s many unique features helped to propel Sebold to fame when it was published in 2002, and it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year.

Perhaps understandably, a series of challenging life situations brought Sebold to this point in her writing career, with her own experiences expanded and reflected in the imaginative world of her 2002 novel, as well as in her other writing.

Born in 1963, Sebold grew up in the anonymity of American suburbia, which she later challenged and explored in her writing, displaying her fascination with how these formulaic, identical streets can nonetheless hide compelling personal stories. In Sebold’s own case, her early home life was at times challenging as her mother, at one time a journalist, grew increasingly estranged from the family and began drinking heavily. Sebold acknowledges that she herself became something of the ‘family joker’ during these years to help calm the tension at home and, also, as the second daughter, to carve her own identity as separate from her more academic older sister, Mary.

After leaving school, Sebold first applied to attend Pennsylvania University, where her father was a professor. She was unsuccessful, however, and instead attended Syracuse University in New York to study creative writing. However, as a first year, the course of her life changed forever when she was brutally raped and left for dead. Although she reported the attack at once, the case went cold and it was only after Sebold recognised her attacker on the street – after... [Read More]

Show / hide details

1963

Alice Sebold born in Madison, Wisconsin

She later grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1980

Graduated from Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania

She was accepted as a student at Syracuse University, New York.

1981

Victim of an attack

In her first year at Syracuse, Sebold was violently attacked. Later that year, she recognised her attacker, and this led to him being convicted and jailed.

1984

Graduated from Syracuse

She went on to attend graduate school at the University of Houston.

1985–1993

Manhattan

Sebold moved to Manhattan, becoming an adjunct instructor in English at Hunter College and a research analyst. During this period, Sebold also attempted to get some early written work published, but was unsuccessful. She experimented with risky behaviour such as drug use during her twenties.

1994

Moved to California

Sebold moved to California, later enrolling at the University of California. Here she met her future husband, Glen David Gold, also an author.

1999

Lucky published

Sebold published Lucky, a memoir, which gained good reviews, but it sold poorly upon its initial release.

2001

Married

Sebold married Glen David Gold.

2002

The Lovely Bones published

The novel was an instant critical and commercial success, gaining her a Bram Stoker Award for ‘best first novel’.

2007

The Almost Moon published

This is Sebold’s third and most recent novel.

2009

Film adaptation of The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones was adapted as a film directed by Peter Jackson.

Watch the trailer

About the Contributor

Writer for ZigZag Education

The Lovely Bones: 'Imagined Worlds' Study Guide for AS/A Level AQA English Language and Literature

AS Paper 1: Views and Voices
A Level Paper 1: Telling Stories

Enter the poignant fantasy world of The Lovely Bones, in which the tragic death of Susie Salmon opens up extraordinary possibilities, allowing an innovative, constantly developing narrative style and a rare depth of characterisation. Students will explore the all-encompassing themes of growing up, family life, grief, loss and fulfilment from the unique perspective of an exceptional narrator in this modern American classic.