— Ch. 1 · The Beanball That Changed A Life —
John Grisham.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
John Ray Grisham Jr. was born on the 8th of February 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His family moved to Southaven, Mississippi when he was four years old. He dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player during his childhood years. The dream ended abruptly at age eighteen after a pitcher threw a beanball that nearly killed him. This violent incident forced him to abandon sports and focus entirely on education instead.
Grisham attended Horn Lake High School before transferring to Southaven High School. He played football, basketball, and baseball there until the injury occurred. An English teacher named Frances McGuffey inspired his love for reading while he was still a student. She introduced him to the works of John Steinbeck during his twelfth grade year. Her influence sparked a lifelong passion for literature that would eventually define his career.
His early work experiences included watering bushes for one dollar an hour at a plant nursery. He later worked on a fence crew earning one point five dollars per hour. At seventeen, he found employment on a highway asphalt crew where a gunfight broke out among workers. He ran into a nearby restroom for safety until police detained the perpetrators involved in the shooting. That terrifying moment made him decide to pursue college seriously.
From Courtroom To Capitol
John Grisham earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practiced criminal law for approximately ten years before entering politics. His legal background provided the foundation for his future writing career and political ambitions. He won election as a Democrat to serve in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990.
Grisham represented the seventh district which included DeSoto County, Mississippi. He challenged the incumbent after becoming embarrassed by Mississippi's national reputation regarding education reform. The Education Reform Act of 1982 inspired his decision to run for office. By his second term he served as vice-chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee.
Political dynamics shifted when a new speaker was elected at the beginning of the 1988 legislative session. Grisham fell out of favor with the new leadership and received minor committee assignments instead. This change allowed him more time to write his first novel called The Firm. He later reflected that if Representative Ed Perry had become speaker he might have been too busy to write.