The older of two sons, Frederick Buechner was born July 11, 1926 in New York City to Katherine Kuhn and Carl Frederick Buechner, Sr. Early in his youth he experienced the loss of his father, who committed suicide. The event was a pivotal influence, one that has fueled a literary search for memory, truth, joy, home, and courage that has aided and encouraged generations of others.
During his youth and early adulthood Buechner lived in several locales, including Bermuda and rural North Carolina. In his high school years he attended boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, then pursued studies at Princeton until these were interrupted by military service in World War II from 1944-1946. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton in 1948.
His first novel, A Long Day's Dying, was published in 1950 and widely applauded. In 1953 he moved to New York City with the intention of being a full-time writer. Instead, he found himself profoundly led by the words of George Buttrick, pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. Under Buttrick's encouragement, Buechner enrolled at Union Theological Seminary and studied under such theologians as James Muilenburg, Reinhold Neibuhr, and Paul Tillich.
A brief sabbatical from seminary studies offered time for him to write The Return of Ansel Gibbs and also to fall in love with Judith Merck. The two were married, and he returned to Union Theological Seminary to complete his Bachelor of Divinity in 1958. Following his ordination, he served in Buttrick's church and interned in Harlem.
His pastoral duties soon led him to Philips Exeter Academy, where he initiated a full-time religion program and also took on the responsibilities of school minister. Sermons offered during the time became The Magnificent Defeat and The Hungering Dark. The Final Beast was also composed during this time. In 1967, Buechner and family moved to Vermont where he became a full-time writer and speaker. Two years later he offered the Nobel Lectures at Harvard, which were published as the Alphabet of Grace. He would also give the Beecher Lectures at Yale, which were published as Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale.
In the 1970's and 1980's Buechner's work would encompass a more humorous, and spiritual, touch. 1970's The Entrance to Porlock paid homage to a childhood favorite, The Wizard of Oz. This period was also to produce the charlatan-priest Leo Bebb in the four-novel cycle The Book of Bebb. 1980's Godric would focus on an irascible saint whose worldly adventures and self-realizations call to readers from distant Celtic days. Dedicated to Buechner's father, Godric was widely celebrated, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and recognized as a finalist in 1981.
Throughout his career Buechner has published more than 30 works including those of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and meditation. More recent titles include 1991's memoir Telling Secrets, 2001's Speak What We Feel (Not What We Ought to Say), and 2006's Secrets in the Dark.
Recipient of numerous awards, recognitions, and honorary doctorates, Buechner and wife Judith joined King College January 28, 2008 to participate in the inauguration of the Buechner Institute. As part of the Institute's inauguration, Buechner premiered passages from his most recent work, 2008's Yellow Leaves. The couple divides their time between Vermont and Florida.