Mathias Mallory was born on February 14, 2010, in Sonora, California. He spent the first two years of his life surrounded by the beauty of the Sierra Nevada foothills. When economic challenges and the collapse of his father’s business struck, his family relocated to the mountains near Susanville, California, where they lived off-grid and he was homeschooled.

Those ten years deeply shaped his perspective. Though life on the mountain was rugged, he was a young child who found wonder rather than struggle in those experiences. In 2020, the Sheep Fire claimed their mountain home, and his family eventually relocated to another spot in Susanville, California. It was there, in the midst of rebuilding and rediscovering stability, that Mathias wrote his first book, Crisis. Writing became his way of reflecting on the resilience, change, and hope that have defined his life’s journey so far.