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James Redfield biography

Author Biography  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

James Redfield

James Redfield

James Redfield Biography

James Redfield has been keenly interested in human spirituality all of his life. Born on March 19, 1950, he grew up in a rural area near Birmingham, Alabama. Brought up in a Methodist Church that was loving and community-oriented, he was nevertheless frustrated by a lack of answers to his questions about the true nature of spiritual experience.

As a young man, he studied Eastern philosophies, including Taoism and Zen, while majoring in sociology at Auburn University. He later received a Master's degree in counseling and spent more than 15 years as a therapist to abused adolescents. In 1989, he quit his job as a therapist to write full-time, synthesizing his interest in interactive psychology, Eastern and Western philosophies, science, futurism, ecology, and history.

In October 1997, Redfield was awarded the highly prestigious Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Senate at the XXIII Pio Manzu International Conference in Rimini, Italy. Pio Manzu is a nongovernmental arm of the United Nations headed up by Mikhail Gorbachev.

In the spring of 2000, Redfield joined Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat For Humanity, as the only two recipients of Humanitarian of the Year honors from their alma mater, Auburn University. Two months later, he was honored by the International New Thought Alliance with another Humanitarian of the Year award.

In March 2004, Redfield was honored by the Wisdom Media Group with the World View Award for engaging the discussion on the nature of human existence and for his ongoing efforts and contributions to the bettering of humanity.

He lives with his wife, Salle, in Florida and Alabama.

James Redfield's website

This bio was last updated on 09/30/2017. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Books by James Redfield at BookBrowse
The Secret of Shambhala jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for James Redfield but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Paulo Coelho

    Paulo Coelho

    Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1970, after deciding that law school was not for him, he traveled through much of South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe. Returning to Brazil after two years, he ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Secret of Shambhala

    Try:
    Eleven Minutes
    by Paulo Coelho

  • Layne Maheu

    Layne Maheu

    Layne Maheu lives in Seattle with his son and makes his living as a carpenter. After taking a degree in literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara, he traveled to Alaska to work on fishing boats. Later, ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Secret of Shambhala

    Try:
    Song of the Crow
    by Layne Maheu

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View all 6 Read-Alikes

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