Pat Conroy , New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. He was the eldest of seven children born to Marine Colonel Donald Conroy, of Chicago and the former Frances "Peggy" Peck of Georgia.

Conroy's stories have been heavily influenced by his upbringing and by tragedies in his family over the years. His father, a military pilot who flew nuclear weapons, used both physical and psychological violence against his children, and the pain of a youth growing up in such a harsh environment is evident in Conroy's novels, particularly The Great Santini. The military life also pushed the family from post to post, and Conroy claims to have moved 23 times before he was 18. His association with Beaufort, South Carolina began when he was 15 and had already been in two high schools elsewhere. As he started again in Beaufort, he determined to change his feeling of rootlessness and make a home for himself in Beaufort.