Joanne Greenberg has been a lifelong advocate for mental health issues and people struggling with mental illness. She has recently completed her latest book, a nonfiction work about her time as a fire-rescue EMT. She has written about twenty novels, one of which, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, is about a young schizophrenic girl's journey back to health.
Born in Brooklyn, Joanne Greenberg graduated from American University with a major in anthropology and English literature. She also studied at the University of London and the University of Colorado. In 1955, she married Albert Greenberg, who encouraged her to write her first book, “The King’s Persons.” This has been followed by twelve novels and four collections of short stories.
During her work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor with deaf clients, she became interested in communicating with the deaf, and since then has assisted in the setting up of mental health programs for the deaf throughout the country. This interest led to her novel “In This Sign,” which was dramatized on television.
She lives in a home near Lookout Mountain, Colorado. Her two sons are grown. She writes daily; tutors in Latin and Hebrew; teaches cultural anthropology and fiction writing at the Colorado School of Mines; and is active in the Beth Evergreen congregation. She is a frequent participant in writers’ seminars and workshops all over the country and has done many speaking and storytelling engagements. You can learn more about Joanne’s work on her website.