Career
In 1969, Gray attended a Transcendental Meditation 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 seven 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 to 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 30 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 17 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.
Read more about this topic: John Gray (U.S. Author)
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