British Author Terry Pratchett Dies at Age 66
‘It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it’s called Life.’
– “The Last Continent”
Terry Pratchett made me laugh. He made millions around the world laugh, of course. That was his job. But for me, it went beyond that.
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The celebrated British author, who passed away this morning at age 66, whose comedic fantasy series of “Discworld” novels included approximately 40 volumes, was introduced to me at a time in my life when laughter didn’t come easy. I was suffering from a serious illness and largely bedridden at age 25, unable to eat much or get out of the house. But on a rare trip to the library, I picked up an audio book of Pratchett’s “Guards! Guards!” on a whim, and I went from barely being able to smile to laughing out loud all night long at this mix strange mix of Douglas Adams, Tolkien and Monty Python that all came together in its own unique voice. I would call family members or friends on the phone to regale them with passages and quotes from his books (“If you light a man a fire, you’ll be warm for a day, but if you light a man on fire, he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.”) I had discovered brilliance, an author who could escape reality and comment on the human condition at the same time, and it quickly became an obsession.
Over the years, Pratchett’s novels became a part of my life, and his teaming with Neil Gaiman of “Good Omens” makes for what I consider to be one of the greatest novels ever published.
When I learned that Pratchett was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (he was diagnosed eight years ago), I was deeply saddened, and have often thought about how his genius got me through my own illness.
The news of his passing this morning is a loss to the literary world, and yet his prolific writings ensure that he will live on in the hearts, minds and funny bones of fans around the globe and across the disc forever. As Pratchett himself said, “Death isn’t cruel, merely terribly, terribly good at his job.”
