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JK Rowling Considered Suicide

Harry Potter author discusses depression during mid-20s

By Kate Rockwood, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 23, 2008 10:01 AM CDT

(Newser) – Before Harry Potter came along, his creator was broke, recently divorced, depressed, and near suicide, reports the Times of London. JK Rowling was a mom in her mid-20s, living in a cramped apartment paid for by a friend when she sought professional help. “We’re talking suicidal thoughts here, we’re not talking ‘I’m a little bit miserable,'” she told a student magazine at Edinburgh University.

Rowling began therapy and shortly after started writing the first Harry Potter book. "I have never been remotely ashamed of having been depressed. Never," she says. "I went through a really rough time and I am quite proud that I got out of that." The 42-year-old is one of the world’s richest women and has sold more than 325 million books.

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British writer J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, has spoken often of her battle with depression. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The seven-book print set of Harry Potter books autographed by author J.K. Rowling are seen at the National Braille Press in Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

British author JK Rowling poses as she arrives for the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Rowling discusses her battle with depression in the Sunday Times. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

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JK Rowling Considered Suicide