Childhood and youth in Michigan, USA

McNeil was born in 1942 in the west part of Michigan, USA. The nautical environment and unspoiled nature of the Lake Michigan area have influenced his future choice of places to live.

He comes from a family of successful inventors and artistic craftsmen, and as a child he wanted to maintain the tradition as an artist, a furniture designer or a carpenter. However, his life developed in a different direction.

One summer, when he was a 17 year old student, he worked as a truck driver at a summer camp for disturbed children from an urban environment. When one of the therapists at the camp sent word that he was unable to come, McNeil was offered the position instead. The job included a university course in psychotherapy.