Born in 1928 in Chicago Philip was one of twins, his sister Jane died aged six weeks. Brought up by his mother Philip developed an interest in science fiction and began writing stories, the first was published in 1951 and from then on he devoted his life to writing. Alongside science fiction he also wrote mainstream literary novels with no success.
At university study of philosophy gave Philip a life-long interest in what is 'real' and this increasingly dominated both his psyche and his writing.
By 1971 he had developed a serious amphetamine habit and the rabbit hole began to open in front of him. His increasingly erratic behaviour was reverse-mirrored in the increasingly focussed subjects of his writing. Notions of reality, confused ideas of consciousness and alienation mixed with a cocktail of drugs resulted in psychosis, hallucinations and breakdowns.
It also resulted in some of the most original and challenging works of science fiction. His ideas and novels were made into films, 'Blade Runner', 'Total Recall' and 'A Scanner Darkly' being the most notable.
His health suffered from the drug use and Philip K Dick died in 1982. He was buried alongside his sister. At the time of her death his name had also been inscribed on the tombstone, the dates of birth and death were left blank, awaiting his arrival.
Emmanuel Carrère's biography 'I Am Alive and You are Dead: A Journey Inside the Mind of Philip K. Dick' is now available again, take the ISBN 9780747579717 to your local bookshop for a trip into a fascinating mind.
There is also an equally intriguing audio-only interview he gave in 1979 here
Another rabbit hole soon.
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