Farewell Frank!

One of my literary heroes passed away today (July 19 ’09 in NY, but July 20 ‘09 here in the Philippines). The best selling and Pulitzer Prize winning author succumbed to melanoma.

I read the news with a heavy heart. For me, there is no other author who has written about extreme poverty with arresting candor, joy, sadness, resiliency and hope. From Limerick, Ireland, he went to New York and worked his way to become a teacher. And a good teacher he was. He inspired many with his stories and his innovative teaching style.

And just when he thought life has completed its servings on him, he became a bestselling author. His book Angela’s Ashes became a bestseller and earned for him a Pulitzer Prize. And he thought it was over. He eventually wrote two more books – ‘Tis and Teacher Man.

Ever the optimistic, he wrote about his life with compassion and zest, so much so that while writing about extreme poverty in Angela’s Ashes, his memoir is filled with nuggets of joy and love for family.

Farewell Frank! Thank you for the stories. Thank you for the inspiration. And most of all, thank you for giving me hope to fulfill the rest of my dreams!

*photo credit here