The author Tim O'Brien is not unlike the character called "Tim" that he created for his novel, The Things They Carried, as both author and character carry the stories of similarly experienced lives. O'Brien not only shares the same name as his protagonist but also a similar biographical background. Readers should note and remember that although the actual and fictional O'Briens have some experiences in common, The Things They Carried is a work of fiction and not a non-fiction autobiography. This distinction is key and central to understanding the novel.
Like "O'Brien," Tim O'Brien, born William Timothy O'Brien, Jr., spent his early life first in Austin, Minnesota, and later in Worthington, Minnesota, a small, insulated community near the borders of Iowa and South Dakota. The first of three children, O'Brien was born on October 1, 1946, at the beginning of the post-World War II baby boom era.
