Stephen King was born in 1947 in Maine, graduated high school in 1966 and attended the University of Maine where he met his wife. He started writing in his spare time in the evenings and weekends while working as a high school teacher. His first books were accepted for publishing in 1973. The story is about Johnny Smith who gets in a car accident and goes into a coma for 5 years, waking up with the power to see the past and future. The American Library Association challenged the book due to its religious and supernatural themes. The author says books should not be banned just for addressing religion or including supernatural elements.