The next year brought a further mix of success and tragedy: Nicholas' father died in an automobile accident at the age of 54, just a month before Nicholas embarked on a 45-city tour to promote The Notebook. and elation! Ms. Park also secured a sale of the film rights. Despite her inexperience, however, Theresa Park was able to not only sell the manuscript to Warner Books but also to secure a $1 million advance, much to the Nicholas' shock. A year later, while living in Greenville, South Carolina, Nicholas was offered a contract by a young agent with no published novels to her name. To that end, he spent the second half of 1994 writing a novel he called The Notebook, scheduling his writing time around his family. He moved his family to North Carolina, where his second son, Ryan, was born in 1993 - but he also learned that his younger sister had developed cancer - an illness that would later claim her life.Īt the age of 28, Nicholas decided to give his literary career a real chance. In 19, Nicholas experienced more change, more joy, and more tragedy. Over the next three years, Nicholas worked in a number of industries and experienced two bright spots: the birth of his son Miles and the chance to coauthor Wokini - a spiritual allegory that sold over 50,000 copies - with Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills.

That same year, Nicholas wrote his second novel, The Royal Murders, which also remains unpublished.

Shortly after his wedding, his mother passed away at the age of 47 from a horseback riding accident. Nicholas graduated Magna Cum Laude from Notre Dame in 1988 with a degree in business finance and then married his wife, Cathy, in 1989. With time on his hands, Nicholas wrote his first novel, The Passing, which was never published. He accepted a full athletic scholarship to Notre Dame but found himself hampered by an injury the summer after his freshman year. Nicholas excelled in high school, graduating as valedictorian of his class and earning notice as a middle-distance runner. Nicholas, his older brother Micah, and his younger sister Danielle were all born within a three-year period, and the closeness in age created a strong bond between them. Nicholas' mother, Jill Emma Marie (Jill), worked as both a homemaker and optometrist's assistant.

His father, Patrick Michael (Mike), was a graduate student for much of Nicholas' early life, so the family lived in a number of college towns before settling in Fair Oaks, California, when Nicholas was eight. Nicholas Sparks was born in 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children.

Dear john nicholas sparks summary