Dillard was born April 30, 1945, in Pittsburgh[1] to Frank and Pam Doak.[2] She is the eldest of three daughters.
Early childhood details can be drawn from Annie Dillard's autobiography, An American Childhood (1987), about growing up in the 1950s Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh in "a house full of comedians."[3] The book focuses on "waking up"[4]: 195 from a self-absorbed childhood and becoming immersed in the present moment of the larger world. She describes her mother as an energetic non-conformist. Her father taught her many useful subjects such as plumbing, economics, and the intricacies of the novel On the Road, though by the end of her adolescence she began to realize neither of her parents is infallible.
In her autobiography, Dillard describes reading a wide variety of subjects including geology, natural history, entomology, epidemiology, and poetry, among others. Among the influential books from her youth were The Natural Way to Draw and Field Book of Ponds and Streams[4]: 81 because they allowed her a way to interact with the present moment and a way of escape, respectively. Her days were filled with exploring, piano and dance classes, rock collecting, bug collecting, drawing, and reading books from the public library including natural history and military history such as that of World War II.
As a child, Dillard attended the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, though her parents did not attend.[4]: 195 She spent four summers at the First Presbyterian Church (FPC) Camp in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.[5] As an adolescent, she stopped attending church, citing "hypocrisy." When she told her minister of her decision, she was given four volumes of C. S. Lewis's broadcast talks, from which she appreciated that author's philosophy on suffering, but elsewhere found the topic inadequately addressed.[4]: 228
She attended Pittsburgh Public Schools until fifth grade, and then The Ellis School until college.
