Akiva Pearlman’s story can be easily defined as a hero’s journey. T h e hero’s journey is a pattern of narrative that American scholar Joseph Campbell described as a classic sequence of actions in which our hero goes on an adventure. During this time he grows, learns and goes through a process of self-discovery, only to come back to the point where he started, but with a series of achievements in tow. A Secular Childhood

Pearlman was born Kenneth Barry Pearlman in Seattle, Washington. Pearlman’s family didn’t have a lot of money and he was always concerned about finances.

When he was five years old, while at a restaurant with his family, he looked down the menu and selected the cheapest item because he didn’t want his father spending money on him.