I've found that a combination of therapy and medication, along with lifestyle choices like eating better and exercising regularly, helps me cope well with my anxiety. John Corey Whaley More Quotes by John Corey Whaley More Quotes From John Corey Whaley If I'm really under pressure to get work done, I can adapt to most situations, but I prefer to be at home, in a comfortable chair, with as few distractions as possible. John Corey Whaley i-can pressure work home I thought, 'What if I were 17, and it was my small town of Springhill, Louisiana? How would I feel if people started flooding in to see some bird?' John Corey Whaley feel thought bird people I love meeting readers and booksellers and am beyond overwhelmed and gratified at the reception. Each day feels like an adventure. John Corey Whaley meeting day adventure love I know what it's like to be from an incredibly small town and the oppressiveness of it and the desire to get out. But I didn't realize that readers in Seattle, New York, and San Francisco might not get that so instinctively. John Corey Whaley realize new small know I've been an assistant to a folklorist and a teacher. There may or may not have been some sandwich-making at a certain sub chain in my past as well. John Corey Whaley well some teacher past Writing was, is, and will always be my favorite job. John Corey Whaley will job always writing I don't think anyone, no matter what, can find perfect happiness until they understand exactly who they are and how every little thing they do can affect the world around them. I think perfect happiness would be a world where everyone is constantly striving to understand everyone else. John Corey Whaley understand think happiness world I regret waiting until my mid-twenties to really start seeing the world. I think I should have taken more risks when I was younger and worried less about being ready to grow up. John Corey Whaley grow regret waiting world I was a terrible reader as a kid. I mean terrible. Super slow and very unfocused. It took me forever to read a book, and I remember being well into high school and still needing my mom to sit down and read aloud to me so I could pass my English tests and such. John Corey Whaley me mom remember school Call it egotistical or narcissist, but I think that's what we all look for in books - the right stories that help us make sense of the world that we, on a very personal level, live in every day. John Corey Whaley day look think world I remember, for the first time, sitting down and consuming books in a matter of hours. This was such a new experience for me because reading, up until that point, had been such a struggle and source of stress. I think I just needed to find the right kind of stories with which I could identify. John Corey Whaley me experience struggle time Dealing with chronic anxiety has taught me to better understand the nuances of mental illness and the very individual nature of it. John Corey Whaley better me anxiety nature I was thrilled when this year's National Book Award for Young People's Literature went to Neal Schusterman's 'Challenger Deep.' This brilliant book takes you into the mind of a mentally ill teenager and deserves all the accolades it's received. John Corey Whaley award you mind people I'm a huge movie nerd. John Corey Whaley nerd movie huge I'm completely obsessed with Andrew Smith's 'Winger.' A great, hilarious, and moving story. John Corey Whaley story great hilarious moving I'm a huge 'Game of Thrones' fan. John Corey Whaley game-of-thrones fan game huge Approaching my second novel was, admittedly, a bit of a struggle. But having an amazing team at Atheneum Books, especially my very patient, brilliant editor Namrata Tripathi, took a stressful situation and turned it into a really great learning experience for me. John Corey Whaley me experience learning struggle I'm beyond thrilled to be working with Faber, whose literary history is second to none. And I'm even more excited to bring my books to a wider audience in the U.K. John Corey Whaley beyond more audience history