Andrew Solomon (born 30 October 1963) is a writer on politics, culture and psychology who lives in New York and London. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Artforum, Travel and Leisure, and other publications on a range of subjects, including depression,^[1] Soviet artists,^[2] the cultural rebirth of Afghanistan,^[3]Libyan politics,^[4][5] and deaf politics.^[6] His most recent book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression^[7] won the 2001 National Book Award,^[8] was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize,^[9] and was included in The Times of London’s list of one hundred best books of the decade.^[10]

Solomon attended the Horace Mann School, graduating cum laude in 1981.^[11] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1985, graduatingmagna cum laude,^[12] and later earned a Master’s degree in English at Jesus College, Cambridge.^[13] He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology, at Jesus College, Cambridge, working on attachment theory under the supervision of Prof. Juliet Mitchell.^[14]Education

Family

Solomon is the oldest son of Howard Solomon, chairman of pharmaceutical manufacturer Forest Laboratories, and Carolyn Bower Solomon. Solomon described the experience of being present at his mother’s planned suicide at the end of a long battle with ovarian cancer in an article for the New Yorker;^[15] in a fictionalized account in his novel, A Stone Boat; and again in The Noonday Demon. Solomon’s subsequent depression, eventually managed with psychotherapy and antidepressant medications, inspired his father to secure FDA approval to market Celexa in the United States.^[16]

Born and raised in New York City, as an adult Solomon became a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom. He and journalist John Habich were joined in an official civil partnership ceremony on June 30, 2007, at Althorp, the Spencer family (The Spencer family is one of Britain’s most illustrious aristocratic dynasties. This noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer (died c. 1478), male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer. Other prominent members of the family include Winston Churchill (grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough) and Diana, Princess of Wales (daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer). The descent of the Spencer family from the Medieval Despencers has been challenged, especially by Horace Round in his essay on The Rise of the Spencers. The Spencers were granted a coat of arms in 1504 which bears no resemblance to that used by the family after c. 1595, which was derived from the Despencer arms. Round believed that the Despencer descent was fabricated by Richard Lee, a corrupt Clarencieux King of Arms.) estate and childhood home of Diana, Princess of Wales.^[17][18] The couple married again on July 19, 2009, the eighth anniversary of their meeting, in Connecticut, so that their marriage would be legally recognized in the state of New York.^[19]

In 2003, Solomon and longtime friend Blaine Smith decided to have a child together; their daughter, Carolyn Blaine Smith Solomon, was born in November 2008. Mother and child live in Texas. A son, George Charles Habich Solomon, was born in April 2009, and lives in New York with Solomon and Habich, his adoptive father. Mr. Habich is also biological father of two children, Oliver and Lucy, born to lesbian friends who live in Minneapolis. The development of this composite family was the subject of a feature article by Solomon published in Newsweek in January 2011.^[19]