Since signing with Universal, I have been working closely with Gary Ross, the director, producer and screenwriter. We have spent many hours on the phone, and I've been sending him information and items that have been useful to the writing process.

A favorite of hers was Come On Seabiscuit a 1963 kiddie book. On the irony of writing about physical paragons while being so incapacitated herself Laura Hillenbrand says "I'm looking for a way out of here. Personal life
Hillenbrand suffers from debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome and remains largely confined to her home.

Hillenbrand's second book was Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival Resilience and Redemption (2010) a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini. C and rarely leaves her house because of the condition. Hillenbrand married Borden Flanagan a professor of Government at American University and her college sweetheart in 2008.