Born in 1937, Paul MacVittie was deprived of maternal protection early in life. Eventually reunited with his father, he found a sense of family only through athletics. He won degrees from Gordon College, Gordon-Conwell Grad School, Fuller Grad School, and St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. His career spanned various disciplines from a college coach, inspirational speaker/teacher, business personnel executive, and psychodynamic psychotherapist. Paul and his wife live in rural New Hampshire.