John Gray (U.S. author)
Encyclopedia
John Gray is an American relationship counselor, lecturer and author who has several university degrees received under a variety of circumstances. In 1969, he began a nine year association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor. In 1992 he published the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
, which became a long term best seller and formed the central theme of all his subsequent books and career activities. His books have been bought by millions of people around the world while drawing criticism from academics for trivializing the dynamics of relationship psychology.
and the University of Texas
.
He received a bachelors and masters degree in the Science of Creative Intelligence, though sources vary on whether these degrees were received from either the non-accredited Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland or the fully accredited Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa
.
Gray received his Ph.D. in 1982 from Columbia Pacific University
(CPU), a now-defunct and non-accredited, university located in San Rafael, California
upon completion of a correspondence course and an honorary doctorate from Governors State University
in Illinois after he delivered their commencement address in 2002.
lecture, later becoming a celibate and personal assistant to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
for nine years.
In 1992, Gray published his book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus which has sold more than 7 million copies and according to a 1997 report by the book's publisher, HarperCollins
, it is the all time, best-selling hard-cover nonfiction book. The book became a “popular paradigm” for problems in relationships based on the different tendencies in each gender and led to infomercials, audiotapes and videotapes, weekend seminars, theme vacations, a one-man Broadway show, an TV sitcom plus a movie contract with 20th Century Fox
. The book has been published in 40 languages and has earned Gray almost $18 million. Gray was accused of borrowing from the work of author Deborah Tannen and he acknowledges some similarities but says, "I was teaching those ideas before I'd heard of her." Other critics have accused Gray of limiting human psychology into stereotypes.
In 1997, Gray began opening Mars & Venus Counseling Centers, where he trains therapists in his "Mars & Venus technique" in exchange for a one time, licensing fee and monthly "royalty payments". The president of the American Psychological Association, Dorothy Cantor, questions the ethics of creating a franchise for what is essentially a therapeutic process.
In 2001, he received the Smart Marriages Impact Award.
In 2002, author Julia T. Wood published a critical response to Gray's portrayals of men and women as he portrayed them in his book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
Gray writes a USA-syndicated column with thirty million readers that appears in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, New York Daily News
, New York Newsday, The Denver Post
, and the San Antonio Express-News
. Internationally, Gray's columns have appeared in publications in England, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Latin American and the South Pacific.
Gray is a family therapist and a member of the American Counseling Association
and the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors.
Gray has made numerous media appearances including Oprah
and Larry King Live
. Gray has been profiled in Newsweek
, People
and Forbes
magazine.
He has written seventeen books on relationships
and personal growth. His most recent book is Venus on Fire | Mars on Ice, an exploration of relationships and the role of food and nutrition in sustaining a healthy romantic partner.
author Barbara De Angelis
and they divorced in 1984. Gray married his current wife, Bonnie in 1986. Gray has two daughters from his wife Bonnie's previous marriage and another daughter together.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor. In 1992 he published the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is a book written by American author, and relationship counselor, John Gray.The book has sold more than 7 million copies and is reported to be one of the best selling self-help books of all time...
, which became a long term best seller and formed the central theme of all his subsequent books and career activities. His books have been bought by millions of people around the world while drawing criticism from academics for trivializing the dynamics of relationship psychology.
Early life and education
Gray was born in Houston, Texas in 1951 to a father who was an oil executive and a mother who worked at a spiritual bookshop. He graduated high school and attended both the University of St. ThomasUniversity of St. Thomas (Houston)
The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, United States is a comprehensive Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts...
and the University of Texas
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...
.
He received a bachelors and masters degree in the Science of Creative Intelligence, though sources vary on whether these degrees were received from either the non-accredited Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland or the fully accredited Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
.
Gray received his Ph.D. in 1982 from Columbia Pacific University
Columbia Pacific University
Columbia Pacific University was an unaccredited nontraditional distance learning school in California. It was founded in 1978 by Richard Crews, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, and Lester Carr, a former president of Lewis University, and operated with state approval...
(CPU), a now-defunct and non-accredited, university located in San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
upon completion of a correspondence course and an honorary doctorate from Governors State University
Governors State University
Governors State University is a public university located in University Park, Illinois. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1969, GSU is an upper-division university, offering undergraduate courses at the junior and senior levels as well as graduate level coursework at...
in Illinois after he delivered their commencement address in 2002.
Career
In 1969, Gray attended a Transcendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
lecture, later becoming a celibate and personal assistant to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
for nine years.
In 1992, Gray published his book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus which has sold more than 7 million copies and according to a 1997 report by the book's publisher, HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, it is the all time, best-selling hard-cover nonfiction book. The book became a “popular paradigm” for problems in relationships based on the different tendencies in each gender and led to infomercials, audiotapes and videotapes, weekend seminars, theme vacations, a one-man Broadway show, an TV sitcom plus a movie contract with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. The book has been published in 40 languages and has earned Gray almost $18 million. Gray was accused of borrowing from the work of author Deborah Tannen and he acknowledges some similarities but says, "I was teaching those ideas before I'd heard of her." Other critics have accused Gray of limiting human psychology into stereotypes.
In 1997, Gray began opening Mars & Venus Counseling Centers, where he trains therapists in his "Mars & Venus technique" in exchange for a one time, licensing fee and monthly "royalty payments". The president of the American Psychological Association, Dorothy Cantor, questions the ethics of creating a franchise for what is essentially a therapeutic process.
In 2001, he received the Smart Marriages Impact Award.
In 2002, author Julia T. Wood published a critical response to Gray's portrayals of men and women as he portrayed them in his book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
Gray writes a USA-syndicated column with thirty million readers that appears in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
, New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, New York Newsday, The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, and the San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio, Texas. It is ranked as the third-largest daily newspaper in the state of Texas in terms of circulation, and is one of the leading news sources of South Texas, with offices in Austin, Brownsville, Laredo, and Mexico City...
. Internationally, Gray's columns have appeared in publications in England, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Latin American and the South Pacific.
Gray is a family therapist and a member of the American Counseling Association
American Counseling Association
The American Counseling Association is a professional organization of counselors in the United States. It is the world's largest association exclusively representing professional counselors....
and the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors.
Gray has made numerous media appearances including Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
and Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
. Gray has been profiled in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, People
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine.
He has written seventeen books on relationships
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
and personal growth. His most recent book is Venus on Fire | Mars on Ice, an exploration of relationships and the role of food and nutrition in sustaining a healthy romantic partner.
Personal Life
Gray married self-helpSelf-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
author Barbara De Angelis
Barbara De Angelis
Barbara De Angelis is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship and personal growth adviser....
and they divorced in 1984. Gray married his current wife, Bonnie in 1986. Gray has two daughters from his wife Bonnie's previous marriage and another daughter together.
Books and other publications
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from VenusMen Are from Mars, Women Are from VenusMen are from Mars, Women are from Venus is a book written by American author, and relationship counselor, John Gray.The book has sold more than 7 million copies and is reported to be one of the best selling self-help books of all time...
- Mars and Venus on a Date
- What You Feel You Can Heal
- Men, Women and Relationships
- Mars and Venus in Love
- Mars and Venus Together Forever: A Practical Guide to Creating Lasting Intimacy
- Mars and Venus in the Bedroom
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus Book of Days
- Mars and Venus Starting Over
- How To Get What You Want and Want What You Have
- Children Are from Heaven
- Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus: Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success, and Vibrant Health in the Twenty-first Century
- Mars and Venus in the Workplace
- Truly Mars & Venus
- The Mars & Venus Diet & Exercise Solution
- Why Mars and Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress
- Mars and Venus: 365 Ways to Keep Passion Alive
- Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice – Hormonal Balance – The Key to Life, Love, and Energy