ReThinking: What being a lawyer taught John Grisham about writing novels
Worklife with Adam Grant
TED
4.8 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 October 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
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Summary
John Grisham is the author of over 50 #1 bestselling novels, including A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief—but before he became the preeminent writer of legal thrillers, he had a tumultuous career as a lawyer. Adam and John discuss how John’s experience in the courtroom inspires his fiction, and how it has continued to shape his perspective on storytelling and criminal justice. They also dig into John’s writing process, unpack his feelings of doubt that still linger after success, and reflect on the moment that changed his mind about the death penalty.
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Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: John Grisham (Instagram: @johngrisham | Website: https://jgrisham.com/)
Links
https://www.facebook.com/JohnGrisham/
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