Biography of Laura Hillenbrand as a leader in all parts of life, written by Wharton MBA student for a course on leadership from the point of view of the whole person.

1. Laura
Hillenbrand
Yue Li
4/11/2017

2. Laura Hillenbrand is an incredibly successful author
2
• Hillenbrand is a 49 year old
nonfiction writer who have
sold more than 13MM
copies of her books
• She has only ever written
two books: Seabiscuit and
Unbroken
• Both turned into major
motion pictures, critically
acclaimed, and NYT
bestsellers
• As a “New Journalism”, her
writing focuses more on the
story than prose-- she is
meticulous about her
research and her books can
take up to 4-5 years
• Published in 2003
• 1,400+ reviews, 4.5 stars
on Amazon
• National Book Critics
Circle Award Finalist
• Published in 2010
• 27,000+ reviews, 5 stars on
Amazon
• Time Magazine #1
Nonfiction of 2010

3. Hillenbrand suffers from a debilitating chronic illness
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• Chronic fatigue syndrome: Believed to be caused by inflammation in the brain and spine
• Those effect feel intense vertigo for prolonged periods of time
“Everything feels like you’re on a ship, and when it’s really
bad, everything is whirling. I don’t know which way is up, and
I’m grabbing onto things.”
“I was nearly hit by a car the other day. I looked straight at it. It
was a white car against a green background, and I did not see
it. I stepped right in front of it.”
-Hillenbrand
• Hillenbrand is effectively confined in her home because of CFS

4. Her illness has led people to doubt her legitimacy
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• After first developing a sudden onset of Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome at 19, she had to drop out of
college as a sophomore at Kenyon
• Her family, doctors, and friends all thought she
the disease was not real, especially because little
was known about the illness at the time
• She was accused of being lazy and unmotivated

5. She’s preserved through her illness, but the illness could
be a factor in her success
5
Hillenbrand credits some of her success to her illness:
• Hillenbrand does her research
only through
• phone interviews
• scouring for old newspapers
on eBay
• inviting experts to her home
(e.g. building a bombsight in
her yard)
• She only starts a book if she feels
truly inspired by the story to
preserve energy
Negatives of CFS: Positives of CFS:
• CFS inspires her to look for
intellectual escape:
“It was a beautiful thing to ride
Seabiscuit in my imagination. And
it's just fantastic to be there
alongside Louie as he's breaking
the NCAA mile record. People at
these vigorous moments in their
lives - it's my way of living
vicariously.”
• Research via phone calls lacks
visual cues, forcing her to ask
detailed and personal questions
and widening her imagination

6. Takeaways
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• Even when it seems highly unlikely, it is possible to align your Self and Home needs with your
Work needs, finding success against all
• Fulfilling Self needs can enhance Work needs (i.e. Hillenbrand’s way of research makes her a
more effective writer
• There is no conventional way to Work. Even in a liberal “writer” domain, you can still find ways to
innovate to suit your needs