Robert Goolrick Explained

Robert Goolrick
Birth Name:Robert Cooke Goolrick
Birth Date:4 August 1948[1]
Birth Place:Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Death Place:Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality:American
Genre:novels, memoir
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Robert Cooke Goolrick (August 4, 1948 – April 29, 2022) was an American writer whose first novel sold more than five million copies.[2]

Biography

Robert Goolrick grew up in the 1950s in the small college town of Lexington, Virginia. His mother was a homemaker and his father a college professor, and he had two siblings. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University. When Goolrick lost his job as an advertising creative director and copywriter, he turned to memoir writing.[3] The End of the World As We Know It: Scenes from a Life highlighted "the excesses and failures of both the social underpinnings of the time and his parents' inevitable alcohol-fueled decline, culminating in a devastating portrayal of the sexual abuse he suffered as a child." He sought "something resembling peace" in his writing.[4] After years living in New York City, Goolrick returned to Virginia.[5] In 2015, he moved from Whitestone, Virginia, to Weems, Virginia.[6] He reads from his book A Reliable Wife in a video posted for his Facebook followers to which he added, "For people who can't come to a bookstore, this is what I look like and what I sound like, thanks to my friend Ashraf Meer."[7]

Robert Goolrick's books were also widely acclaimed abroad, notably in France, where he made a brilliant career and was loved both by the press and the readers. He was awarded several prestigious literary prizes there, among which the Prix Fitzgerald (for La chute des princes) and the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle (for Arrive un vagabond).

He died from complications related to COVID-19 in April 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia.[8] Goolrick is buried in Old Chapel Cemetery in Millwood, Virginia, along with his ancestor, writer John Esten Cooke (1830–1886).

Works

Works translated into French

- Prix Laurent-Bonelli Virgin-Lire 2012

- Grand prix des lectrices de Elle 2013.[10]

Prizes

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robert Cooke Goolrick of Lynchburg died April 29. The News-Gazette. 2 May 2022 . 15 May 2022.
  2. Web site: Robert Goolrick Bookreporter.com. www.bookreporter.com. 3 November 2016.
  3. Web site: Robert Goolrick. www.goodreads.com. 26 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Robert Goolrick, author of the best-seller A Reliable Wife, talks about writing as the path to something resembling peace. Nashville Scene. 15 March 2012 . 3 November 2016.
  5. Web site: Shelf Awareness for Readers for Friday, June 15, 2012. www.shelf-awareness.com. 3 November 2016.
  6. Web site: Robert Goolrick Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. 3 November 2016. en-us.
  7. Web site: Robert Goolrick. www.facebook.com. 27 January 2018. en.
  8. News: Robert Goolrick, whose books explored tragedy and endurance, dies at 73. The Washington Post. 15 May 2022.
  9. Web site: André Clavel (Lire) . L'autobiographie de Robert Goolrick . 20 January 2017.
  10. Web site: Claire Julliard . Robert Goolrick, c'est good . 5 June 2013 . 20 January 2017.
  11. "La chute des princes" de Robert Goolrick: Icare au royaume du dollar . 20 January 2017.

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