Horace Jackson Brown Jr. (March 14, 1940 – November 30, 2021) was an American author who was best known for his inspirational book, ''Life's Little Instruction Book'', which was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller (1991–1994). Its sequel ''Life's Little Instruction Book: Volume 2'' also made it to the same best seller list in 1993.

Life and career

Brown was born in

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

on March 14, 1940. Before becoming a writer, he acted as a creative director of an advertising agency in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He graduated from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1962 and was a member of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. In 1991 he was honored as a "Significant Sig", an award given by the organization to its notable members. Brown first published ''A Father's Book of Wisdom'', which was quickly followed by ''P.S. I Love You'', a collection of sayings and observations from his father and mother, respectively. The latter contains a famous quote ending with "Explore. Dream. Discover." which is often misquoted as having been said by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

. Both books were very popular and led to ''Life's Little Instruction Book'', which was originally written as a going-away present for his college-bound son, Adam. This book contained 511 reminders about "how to live a happy and rewarding life" and became a best-seller worldwide. It has logged more than two years on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list, including more than a year at the number one spot. ''Life's Little Instruction Book'' was the first book to ever occupy the number one spot on the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Best Seller list in both paperback and hardback formats simultaneously. ''Live and Learn and Pass It On'' followed and also became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. It was co-authored with his ex-wife Rosemary C. Brown, who is herself an author with books like ''Rosemary Brown's Big Kitchen Instruction Book''. Brown's books have been translated into 35 languages. They have spawned calendars, posters, apparel items, daily journals, greeting cards, audiocassettes, screensavers and fortune cookies. He died on November 30, 2021, at the age of 81 at his residence in

Works

* ''A Father's Book of Wisdom''. Thomas Nelson Inc, 1988. . * ''P.S. I love you''. Rutledge Hill Press, 1990. . * ''Life's little instruction book, (Volume 1)''. Rutledge Hill Press, 1991. . * ''Life's Little Instruction Book (Volume 2): A Few More Suggestions, Observations, and Remarks on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life''. Thomas Nelson Inc, 1994. . * ''The Little Book of Christmas Joys''. with Rosemary Brown, Kathy Peel. Thomas Nelson Inc., 1994. . * ''Wit and Wisdom from the Peanut Butter Gang''. Rutledge Hill Press, 1994. . * ''Complete Life's Little Instruction Book''. Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 1997. . * ''Kid's Little Treasure Books on What I've Learned...So Far''. Thomas Nelson(J), 1997. . * ''Life's Treasure Book of Christmas Memories''. with G. G. Santiago. Thomas Nelson Inc, 1999. . * ''Life's Little Treasure Book on Things That Really Matter''. Thomas Nelson Inc., 1999. * ''Life's Little Treasure Book on Simple Pleasures''. Thomas Nelson Inc, 1999. . * ''Live and Learn and Pass It On (Vol. 2): People Ages 5 to 95 Share What They've Discovered about Life, Love, and Other Good Stuff''. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000. . *
Life's Instructions for Wisdom, Success, and Happiness
'. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2000. . * ''Life's Little Instruction Book'', Volume 3. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2000. . * ''Life's Little Instruction Book from Mothers to Daughters''. with Kim Shea. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2000. . * ''Life's Treasure Book on Friendship''. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2000. . * ''Life's Little Instructions from the Bible Perpetua'', with Rosemary C. Brown. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001. . * ''A Book of Love for My Son''. with Hy Brett. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2001. . * ''A Book of Love for My Daughter''. with Paula Flautt, Kim Shea. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2001. . * ''Highlighted in yellow: a short course in living wisely and choosing well''. with Rochelle Pennington. Rutledge Hill Press, 2001. . * ''The Complete Live and Learn and Pass It on''. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2007. . * ''As Southern As It Gets: 1,071 Reasons to Never Leave the South''. Thomas Nelson, 2017. .

References

External links

Official website of H. Jackson Brown Jr.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, H. Jackson Jr. 1940 births 2021 deaths American male non-fiction writers American self-help writers People from Tennessee Sigma Chi Emory University alumni