Biography of Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)

Phil K. Dick was born as a twin in Chicago in 1928. His twin sister, Jane, died a few weeks after her birth, and Phil felt her absence throughout the remainder of his life. Dick had a difficult relationship with his parents as a child, worsened by his parents' divorce when Phil was five years old. Dick lived with his mother in Berkeley, California, and he attended the University of California until dropping out in 1949.

Dick suffered from episodes of vertigo beginning in his early adolescents. Dick was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia in his late teens. The diagnosis worried Dick greatly, though many other mental health professionals would go on to provide a variety of assessments of Dick's mental state.

Dick discovered the science fiction genre at age twelve, through reading a magazine.