John J. McGraw was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1974. McGraw studied at Cascia Hall Preparatory School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Stanford University, and the University of California, San Diego. McGraw received a B.A. in Psychology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies from Stanford University, and is in pursuit of a PhD in Anthropology and Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. In Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul, McGraw incorporates experiences from his work in psychiatric hospitals, medical research, and his extensive studies in religion and philosophy. This work is heavily influence by Ernest Becker, Weston LaBarre, Ashley Montagu, and Richard Evans Schultes. He is currently performing anthropological fieldwork in Guatemala.