This afternoon I had to break the news to Ken that one of his favorite authors died, at the young age of 71. Yes, Michael Palmer, author of medical political thrillers and a regular on the bestseller lists, who was a doctor himself, died yesterday. Ken thought so highly of him.
And just a couple of months ago, another of Ken's cherished political thriller writers, Vince Flynn died, and this poor man was only 47. And, early this year, Elmore Leonard, another of his favorites passed away! (He was 87.)Last year, Ken mourned the loss of Boston's famous mystery writer, Robert Parker.
The links are to New York Times obituaries, which are considered the best among U.S. newspapers. If you find these links take you nowhere, would you drop a comment? They work for me, but I don't know about others. Michael Palmer's struggles are especially interesting to me.
I've never experienced the like of this. My favorite authors seem to get very old and then retire from writing. I've not experienced the stunning loss of an author in the midst of his or her life's work in recent years. Although, as I've stated before, I do worry about Paul Auster, who's about 67 and does not take care of himself.
So how do you manage the pain resulting from the loss of a brilliant writer? Please share!
I'm going to cope with Ken's losses for him. Because I'm his personal librarian, I'm going to seek out all the books of each writer that he hasn't read. Sigh.
Knitting – a cardigan for Isobel
9 hours ago
The links work for me, except that the Elmore Leonard one is also taking me to poor Vince Flynn instead of Elmore. We're still mourning Iain Banks here. It annoys me when politicians keep saying we are all living so much longer - if only it were so!
ReplyDeleteKatrina,
DeleteThanks for letting me know about the Elmore Leonard link. I will fix it up, then I'll look up Iain Banks straightaway.
Actually, the phenomenon of top bestselling writers dying got us to talking last night. I've learned over many years, and it seems the medical world has finally managed to figure out that excessive stress is detrimental to health. And this knowledge got me thinking about the stress that writers who are always at the top of the bestseller lists experience, some of them churning out a book every 10 months or so. The pressure!! The publisher breathing down one's neck every minute. The constant touring and interviews. And, as a result, the time NOT spent exercising, eating healthy foods, relaxing, and looking out the window! All of that would put me six feet under.
Judith
it is always sad to lose writers you have loved ,almost as thou a bit of you dies as you know there never be another book ,all the best stu
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Stu!
DeleteI couldn't have said my sentiments better. That's exactly it. Yes. When I hear of one of my favorite authors dying, I do indeed feel a bit of myself has passed on. So true. Thank you!
Judith