My wife and I are shocked and saddened by the news that author Jeremiah Healy committed suicide on Thursday. We were friends for over 20 years, hung out with him at countless conventions around the country, spent time with him in Boston, and we worked together at one point trying to sell his PI series to TV, and yet we werent close. I had no idea that he suffered from depression. He hid it very well. He was one of the nicest guys I ever met and seemed to take a genuine interest in you personally and professionally. He was a great writer....his Cuddy novels are among the best PI novels ever written. Cuddy was certainly one of the most sensitive private eyes in fiction. Jerry was a character, too...always in his polo shirts and shorts, with his Florida tennis tan...leaving stacks of his CV at conferences pamphlet tables. He always had a funny...but long...anecdote to share from his days as a lawyer and professor. He battled prostate cancer a few years ago and was very open about his fight and his recovery...sometimes too much so . I remember once asking him at a convention how he was doing and he said Im urinating easily now and maintaining an erection. I started laughing and he looked surprised. I told him I was happy for him, but that he might want to ease into telling people that news, perhaps start with Doing great, how are you? Then work his way up urination. But that was jerry. he wanted to use his cancer experience to help others, as a lesson in detection and survival. Thats why his suicide is such a horrible shock.. It doesnt fit with the jerry I knew...the jerry I guess I never knew at all.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 11:12:28 +0000
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