His birth name is Laurence Vail Eighner and he grew up in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Lamar High School in 1966.

[21] He also studied creative writing under George Williams of Rice University at the Corpus Christi Fine Arts Colony.

As reported in The New York Times, in 1993, Eighner believed his dropping out of college was due to the combination of family disagreements over his sexual orientation and migraine headaches.

As reported in The New York Times, Eighner describes his falling out of his job at the Austin State Hospital as a result of an argument with a supervisor, leading him to quit.

Eighner became homeless a second time in 1988 after leaving a job he had held for ten years as an attendant at a state hospital in Austin, Texas.

[25] In 1994, Eighner’s piece, “Travels With Lizbeth” was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for “Gay Men’s Biography/Autobiography.”[26] In 1994, Lars was still being noticed for his work and was elected to the Texas Institute of Letters.

[28] The entries of his piece, “On Dumpster Diving”, began shortly after he became homeless in 1988 when he left a job he held for ten years.