I Remember Michael Crichton
I was saddened to hear of the unexpected, recent passing of author Michael Crichton.
When his first novel, Andromeda Strain came out, I was working in the operating room at Santa Monica Hospital. Although I was writing stories in my spare time, I did not have dreams of being published. And then here came this fabulous novel from a man who was not only a doctor, but who had, it was soon revealed, financed his way through medical school by writing novels under a pen name! I felt an immediate connection with Dr. Crichton – there I was in the hospital setting, working on the open-heart team (those were pioneering days!) and writing novels in the evenings (at the time, I was working on Curse This House). That was when it occurred to me that I could do the same thing – work as a surgical nurse while pursuing a career in writing.
It was my great fortune to be able to tell Dr. Crichton this years later, when we met at a book event in Los Angeles at which I was giving a talk about my latest book at that time, Prophetess. I walked on air that day.
As a storyteller, Michael Crichton challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us and educated us and entertained us while doing so. As a man, he was one of the most gracious and charming people I have ever met. Beyond being quite tall and very handsome, Michael Crichton was warm, witty, brilliant, and very attentive. No subject was beyond his interest, and he had the magical gift of making whoever he was speaking with feel exceptionally special. He listened with interest to what I had to say about my book, and he asked probing and insightful questions.
I have never forgotten that day. It remains one of my most special memories. When I read of Michael Crichton’s passing (he had been diagnosed with cancer only months earlier), I took the news very personally.
Here was a true wunderkind, because Michael Crichton was awarded his medical degree at Harvard Medical School in the same year his first major bestseller, The Andromeda Strain, was published. He went on to write fourteen more blockbuster novels, many of which were turned into films, including Jurassic Park. He will be sorely missed.
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