Dean Wilber
Author
About
The Full Story
Dean E. was born into an Army family at Fort Meade, Maryland. One of his earliest memories was reading Dr. Seuss on his grandmother's lap in the kitchen.
Dean E. was identified as gifted in the first grade. He did well in school, but not as well as predicted. After the third grade, there was discussion of double-promoting him, but that was nixed because his teacher felt he lacked social development.
This occurred when his family was living in Germany where his father was stationed. As an alternative to double-promotion, Dean E. was enrolled in a German public school for the fourth grade.
He found the school year he spent attending there to be traumatic, as he didn't learn the language, and couldn't understand the lessons. But he made it through, and continued in the fifth grade when his family moved back to the US. He wasn't an especially diligent student through junior high, although he did win the school spelling bee in the seventh grade. In the eighth grade, he had a moment of clarity, and decided to try harder at school in order to get into college.
He graduated a year early by being advanced in math and science classes and by taking one year of English via correspondence course (the by-snail-mail precursor to online education.) He got into a good college, but he struggled with depression, loneliness, and insomnia. Dean E. left that school without getting a degree, with a C- GPA. He worked entry-level jobs, where his performance was poor, due to the depression and insomnia.
The FBI found him and arrested him. Dean E. was allowed to make a plea bargain where he would go to a psychiatric facility until he was deemed safe to release, as an alternative to prison time.
After having a psychological crisis, Dean E. wound up living at his dad's house on disability. He tried to complete his college education, but failed again. About this time, 9/11 occurred. Dean E. was distressed about where the country was going. While homeless and off his medication, he sent a threatening letter to the Attorney General of the United States.
The FBI found him and arrested him. Dean E. was allowed to make a plea bargain where he would go to a psychiatric facility until he was deemed safe to release, as an alternative to prison time. He was released after about four years. Since then, he finished his undergraduate degree, in economics, and got master's degrees in economics and psychology, as well as certificates in women's, gender, and sexuality studies and addiction studies.
His insomnia was diagnosed as being due to nasal polyps causing obstructive sleep apnea. This was cured with a series of surgeries. He had difficulty finding a job due to lack of work experience, so he started blogging. After about a hundred blog posts, he started compiling a book from his blogs’ copy.
The content of the book wasn't all or mostly figured out when Dean E. started writing, but rather the process of writing the book has been a process of spiritual growth and discovery. Burning In is his first attempt at a full-length book.