William Edwards was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1954. He grew up in the suburb of Skokie and after a short stint in the armed services, moved to California. After attending college briefly, he went on to a successful twenty year career in the health profession as a caregiver, assisting the disabled and the elderly. Also, over a thirty year period, he has experimented in many of the trainings given in the book and has studied many branches of knowledge that give a more modern understanding of our understanding of the examined life. He currently resides in San Diego, California.