I honestly feel like I’m going to cry. I just found out a few minutes ago that Lloyd Alexander passed away this last May, just two weeks ago.
Alexander has been one of my favorite authors since I was twelve. I started with the Chronicles of Prydain, then moved on to the Westmark trilogy, and tonight while at the library, I found a whole new series of his, called the Vesper Holly series, that I’ve never read. I snatched up every one of them, and when I went online just now to discover what order they come in, I saw that he had passed away, and that I missed it.
I know that sounds crazy. I don’t know the man and the chances that I’d ever meet him are so slim as to be silly, but yet it seems wrong somehow that a man who impacted me so much should pass from this earth without my knowing it. It seems that I should have had a moment of mourning, or shared it with my children, or something along those lines – anything to pay homage to the brilliant author that he was.
His books got me through some of the roughest times of my life. He was there for me when my parents divorced. He was there when we moved to a new place and I didn’t have any friends, just my library card. He saw me through morning sickness on a number of occasions. Whenever I pick up one of his books, I feel like I’m greeting an old friend.
There are a few things to comfort me – he died at home in his own bed, where he wanted to be. And he finished one last book, “The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio,” which is slated to come out in August, and when he ended it, he made the comment that he had finished his life’s work at the age of 83. So I know that he felt satisfied with the life he lived and that he was ready to die. I guess, since he was ready, it makes little difference that I wasn’t ready for him to go.
But part of the beauty of the written word is this – he will live on forever. Whenever someone picks up his books, he is alive again. When they put in the DVD of “The Black Cauldron,” there he is. His work will never die. He has been published in several countries, his stories are world-famous. As long as people can read, Lloyd Alexander lives on.
Keep an eye on Media Reviews – I’ll be continuing to review Alexander’s books until I’ve done them all.
Related Blogs: