King was seriously ill, and then he began to write. His mother did not live to see his success

The writer was born in 1947, which surprised his parents. His mother, Nellie Ruth King, never expected to have a child because she was diagnosed with infertility. In turn, his father, Donald, was rarely at home, because his profession as a sailor prevented him from doing so. However, despite this, he had a huge impact on young Stephen.

He grew up with his brother. His father left the family when he was two years old, and his mother worked a lot

The famous writer’s father loved horror and science fiction. He tried to write his own prose, but he was not very good at it. As King recalls in his 1981 book Danse Macabre, when he discovered his father’s book box, his life changed forever. However, despite everything, the father of the horror master unfortunately did not leave behind many good memories. The writer declares that he hardly remembers his father and mentions that one day he left home and never came back.

This caused financial problems for the family. The mother had to catch every possible job, sometimes leaving the children for long weeks or even months. In “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” quoted by grunge.com, we read that the writer’s childhood was crazy, he lacked stability and two parents. The Kings moved often, and Stephen’s mother had to deal with not only economic but also emotional problems. “She was one of America’s first liberated women. Unfortunately, not by choice,” recalls King.

To provide for herself and the children, Stephen’s mother worked two and sometimes even three jobs at the same time. She could not afford a babysitter, so young Stephen and his older brother David were brought up by themselves. The popular writer had health problems since he was a child and instead of attending the first year of primary school, he spent most of the year at home. He suffered from measles and also struggled with successive bouts of strep which led to painful ear infections. King recalls that her treatment was accompanied by the most pain she had ever felt. “It was only the first month of recovery after being hit by a van in 1999 that was close,” he declares.

King began writing when he became seriously ill. His mother always believed in him, but she did not live to see her son’s first success

King sold his first story early in college. It was a text entitled “The Glass Floor” for which he received $35 from the publishing house. When he started a family after graduation, he wanted to earn money as a teacher, but he couldn’t find a job in this profession. Just like when he lived with his mother, he barely made ends meet, working in the laundry or at the gas station.

Although the writer did not live in luxury and rarely saw his mother, she always supported him in his activities, which turned out to be invaluable. Young King, not wanting to waste time lying idle in bed when he was ill, read comic books and glued his own stories together. As we read in the book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” quoted by grunge.com, Stephen one day plucked up the courage and showed one of the works to his mother. She was very impressed. And when her son explained to her that he had copied the story, she admonished him to write his own. She assured me that it would be better than the one she had just read.

Unfortunately, Nellie Ruth King couldn’t see for herself that she was right and that her son would actually write many meaningful stories in his life. King’s mother died on December 18, 1973, just months before the publication of Stephen’s debut novel Carrie. The woman had been suffering from cancer for a long time.