Lie Down in Darkness

Props to Craig

William Styron, Mr. Happy Book, has died of pneumonia at the age of 81. Among the daisy-lined, puppy-covered streets where his literary muse wandered included Holocaust survivor’s guilt (Sophie’s Choice), the suicide of a young girl (Lie Down in Darkness) and a violent slave uprising (The Confessions of Nat Turner). Dark thoughts come from dark minds, and for much of his life he battled deep depression and considered suicide. Widely regarded as one of the premier writers of his generation, he won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was alternatively praised for his willingness to tackle on difficult subjects and criticized for writing about things he shouldn’t have written about.