About Me — Matthew Thiele

Create more than you consume.

Photo by the author.

Hello! Here’s my extended bio in case you’re interested in learning a little more about me.

You might be wondering about how to pronounce my last name. Most people who try to guess get it wrong. I’ve met a few Thieles in my life, and it seems like none of them pronounce it the same. So for anyone who’s curious, it starts with an unvoiced “th” like in “thought” or “thanks,” and the end rhymes with “eel”: “th-eel.”

I am nearly 50 years old, and I started writing on Medium in February 2021. I write humor and advice, and I blog about literature. I’ve been married for 14 years, and I’ve taught college English for about that long. My wife and I have two children.

My Background

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but my parents moved to Southern California a couple of years after that. They split up when I was about 7, and I spent a while bouncing back and forth between them. It wasn’t the worst childhood, but I suffered various kinds of neglect and abuse, and I was unhappy most of the time.

I enlisted in the US Army in 1993, and I served for 4 years as a Korean linguist. In 1997 I enrolled at The College of William and Mary, where I earned my BA in English Literature in 2001. I worked in marketing and communications in…