John Van Natta

John Van Natta was born in Philadelphia, grew up in Kansas, attended Medical School in Boston, and ultimately ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area, training at Stanford and joining the Faculty at the Stanford Medical School. Focusing on patient care and on teaching psychiatry to medical students, trainees, and to any interested faculty members, eventually he was sought out as an expert in the field, becoming involved as a witness in many forensic matters. He ultimately attained Emeritus status. Contemporaneously, as an Adjunct Professor in Humanities he was teaching a series of four courses at the interface of psychiatry and literature: 8 Ages of Man, Deviants in Literature, Family Dynamics in Literature, and Alienated Self. He continues to offer one course per year through the Introductory Seminar Series at Stanford.

Encouraged by the Pegasus Physician Writer's Group at Stanford, in addition to the two works already posted, he has written three more novels, a novella that deals with organ transplantation issues, and is currently working on a forth novel. All will eventually be posted.

He played soccer competitively in college and continuing throughout his thirties. He coached his children's teams and became a certified referee. He has played golf competitively throughout his life and somehow, despite advancing age, maintains a low handicap.

He and his wife live near Stanford. Their children live in the Bay Area, as do 4 grandchildren.