by Lacey Simmons

Created on: August 23, 2008   Last Updated: December 14, 2009

Phillip K. Dick, a science fiction novelist, was born on December 16, 1928. Phillip and his twin sister were born six weeks premature. His twin sister died five weeks later. The Death of his sister affected his life and writings leading to the recurrent motif "Phantom twin" in many of his books.

Phillip attended John Eaton Elementary School from 1936 to 1938 and later attended Berkeley high school in Berkeley, California where he graduated. He went on to attend the University of California where he majored in German. Phillip later dropped out before completing his coursework.

In 1948 Phillip married his first wife, Jeanette Martin, whom he was married to only for six months. That same year he began working at a record store which he worked at for four years or more. In June 1950 Phillip married his second wife, Kleo Apostolides; he later divorced her in 1959.

Phillip sold his first story in 1952. From then on he wrote full time, selling his first novel in 1955. Throughout his journey as a novelist he often had financial problems making it harder for him to publish his works. Phillip won a Hugo award in 1963 for "The man in the high castle".

Laura, Phillip's first child was born in 1960, mothered by Anne Rubinstein whom Phillip married in 1964 and later divorced in 1966. His second Child Isa was born in 1967 whom was mothered by his fourth wife Nancy Hackett, who he married in 1972. He later divorced Nancy a year later in 1973.

Phillip donated his manuscripts and papers to the special collections library at California State University. They were archived in the Phillip K. Dick science fiction collection in the Pollak library.

After recovering from the effects of sodium pentothal administered during the removal of an impacted wisdom tooth, Phillip claimed to have visions. He claimed they were Visions of laser beams and geometric patterns.

As they increased he claimed he began to live a double life, one as himself and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by the Romans in the first century A.D. He wrote about these visions and experiences in the semi-autobiographical novels "Valis" and "Radio free Albemuth".

Phillip speculated he suffered from schizophrenia and even wrote an essay called "Schizophrenia and the book of changes," about the disease. He was often focusing on mental health in his essays and short stories.

He married his fifth and final wife, Leslie Busby in 1977 after they had a child, Christopher.

As a novelist and short story writer, his typical focus was on the fragile nature of what is real and the construction of personal identity. Phillip also wrote works on mental illness such as "Clans of the Alphane Moon" which spoke about lunatic asylum inmates. He wrote a few works focusing on drug use, "A Scanner Darkley", and "The three stigmata of Palmer Eldritch". Phillips had a different point of view on drug use as he battled it himself.

Phillips was a voracious reader of religion, philosophy, and metaphysics which often appeared in his work. "The Golden Man" a short story collection produced in 1980 and "The Transmigration of Timothy Archer" was his last two works produced before his death.

Phillip K. Dick died in Santa Ana, California in March 1982. He suffered from a stroke five days earlier. They had disconnected him from his life support after his EEG had become isoelectric after loosing consciousness. Phillip was buried next to his twin sister. He was resurrected by his fans in the form of a remote controlled android.

Learn more about this author, Lacey Simmons.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.