Graeber is an American journalist who was born in Iowa. He studied as a medical student, conducting research before transitioning into writing and journalism. He has written for such renowned outlets as Vogue, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. In addition, he has been featured in programs on Cable News Network (CNN) and National Public Radio (NPR). His work has appeared in anthologies such as The Best American Crime Writing and The Best American Science Writing. The Good Nurse is his first book, and in the years since its release he has published The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer, which was supported by medical foundations.

Graeber was the only journalist that Charlie agreed to talk to, first meeting with him in 2007 about donating a kidney. Their process of coming together was done in secret, and the two struggled to connect due to Charlie’s sociopathic tendencies. Graeber has received praise for his work with Charlie, and one challenge was that Graeber had to mostly commit his conversations with Charlie to memory because of the maximum-security nature of the prison.

Graeber places himself in the book only in the final chapter, “Post Script,” when he occasionally uses first-person language as he observes Charlie’s efforts to secure a kidney and, in doing so, interviews him for the book.