Meghan O'Rourke

Meghan O'Rourke (born 1976) is an American nonfiction writer, poet and critic.

Background and education O'Rourke was born on January 26, 1976, in Brooklyn, New York. The eldest of the three children of Paul and Barbara O'Rourke, she had two younger brothers. Her mother was a longtime teacher and administrator at Saint Ann's, an elite independent school in Brooklyn, and later headmaster of the Pierrepont School in Westport, Connecticut. Her father, a classicist and Egyptologist, also taught at Saint Ann's and Pierrepont. O'Rourke attended St. Ann's through high school. She earned a bachelor's of arts degree in English language and literature from Yale University in 1997 and a master of fine arts degree in poetry from Warren Wilson College in 2005. She is also an occasional contributor to The New York Times. O'Rourke has written on a wide range of topics, including horse racing, gender bias in the literary world, the politics of marriage and divorce, and the place of grief and mourning in modern society. She has published poems in literary journals and magazines including The New Yorker, Best American Poetry, The New Republic, and Poetry,

O'Rourke suffers from an autoimmune disorder that she has written about for The New Yorker. Her latest book, The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness, was released in March 2022. Publishers Weekly named it one of the top ten books of 2022, regardless of genre. O'Rourke has been treated for Lyme disease. The Invisible Kingdom details her decade-long struggle with it and with an autoimmune condition as well as the protracted process of obtaining a correct diagnosis. O'Rourke details how her symptoms were discounted by medical professionals, some of whom lacked empathy. The memoir is highly critical of the medical establishment, documenting its inadequacy in treating those with chronic medical conditions, especially those without a clear diagnosis. The memoir was nominated for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Awards and fellowships 2005: Union League and Civic Arts Foundation Award from the Poetry Foundation 2007: Lannan Literary Award 2008: May Sarton Poetry Prize 2014: Guggenheim Award for General Nonfiction 2017: Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant to complete her book, What's Wrong With Me? The Mysteries of Chronic Illness