About The Author

Bernie Mulligan

Bernie Mulligan was born in Maryland, in 1951. When his father was discharged from the army, the family moved to East Providence, Rhode Island. In 1955, the entire family was exposed to polio. His mother was rushed to the hospital, where she stayed for the next three years. When she returned home in 1958, the family resumed life as a happy, functional unit despite his mother’s paralysis.

Bernie attended Saint Margaret’s School and went on to graduate from East Providence Senior High in 1969. He joined the army after graduation, and became a medic specializing in neuropsychiatry during the Vietnam War.

In 1971, his father died and he was summoned home to care for his mother, Marie. Her perseverance, intellect, and courage were always great sources of inspiration to him, even as the family navigated the complexities of her disability.

Bernie Mulligan in 1972

Several years later, he entered college and earned a degree in English Literature from the University of California in Santa Cruz, and a K–12 teaching credential from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

He returned to Rhode Island to raise a family and worked for manufacturers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, specializing in marketing and management for start-ups.

Today, he is a Director of Business Operations for a manufacturer in Oklahoma, working remotely for the last 14 years.

He wrote much of his first book, Made It!, while traveling.