The eldest of four, Williaml was born May 11th, 1955, in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, where the majority of his first decade was lived with his missionary parents in the highlands of Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua), among the Dani, a technologically stone age tribal people.
He was flown away to a boarding school at age 6.In the middle of a school year, his family unexpectedly returned to the West. His father worked as a Pastor for a number of small churches in Western Canada and by the time he graduated he had already attended thirteen different schools. He paid his way through Bible College working as a radio disc jockey, lifeguard and even a stint in the oil fields of northern Alberta. He spent one summer in the Philippines and another touring with a drama troupe before working in Washington D.C. at Fellowship House, an international guesthouse. Completing his undergraduate degree in Religion, William graduated summa cum laude from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon.
The following year, he met and married Kim Warren and for a time worked on staff at a large suburban church while attending seminary. William has owned businesses and worked for others in diverse industries, from insurance to construction, venture capital companies to telecom, contract work to food processing; whatever was needed to help feed and house his growing family.
His books, The Shack, Crossroads, and Eve have all been on the NY Times Bestseller lists.
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