Rebecca Godfrey, the Canadian author who explored troubled youth in two critically acclaimed books, has died at 54, the New York Times reports.
Godfrey, a Toronto native, began her career as a journalist before making her literary debut in 2002 with the novel The Torn Skirt. The story of a high school student who becomes obsessed with an antisocial girl, the novel gained critical praise, including from a Kirkus reviewer, who wrote that Godfrey “constantly impresses with her precise eye and impassioned tone.”
Godfrey’s second book, published in 2005, was Under the Bridge, a nonfiction account of the murder of a 14-year-old girl in British Columbia. The book was also a hit with reviewers; a Kirkus critic praised it as “a tour-de-force of true crime reportage.” A limited series based on Under the Bridge is currently in the works for Hulu.
The Times reports that Godfrey’s third book, a novel about art collector Peggy Guggenheim, is scheduled for publication by Random House next year.
Godfrey was remembered by her admirers on social media. On Twitter, author Mikki Halpin wrote, “I’ll never forget crashing around New York with her blazing blue eyes in our wild youth. She went on to live a life of such integrity and brilliance, we’ve really lost one.”
Madelaine Lucas tweeted, “Rebecca Godfrey was a guiding force in my life as a teacher and a friend. She was elegance on & off the page but also a punk at heart, with a deep well of empathy for rebels & outsiders. Her passing is an enormous loss to her family and everyone who loved her.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
