Anna

Anna Van Houten is the daughter of Peter Van Houten, the writer of An Imperial Affliction. Anna was said to be the inspiration behind her namesake, the female lead of AIA.

When Hazel and Augustus were in Amsterdam, Hazel had worn a shirt with the quote; ' Ceci n'est pas une pipe', to which Peter Van Houten commented that it reminded him of Anna. Near the end of the book, Van Houten explained to Hazel that Anna had died of cancer several years ago.

Sometime when she was very young, she acquired the blood cancer Leukemia. It quickly extinguished her life; she had died at only age 8