40 Forever: Sharp!

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Sharp by David Fitzpatrick

Sharp: A Memoir. William Morrow & Co, 2012. Print.

We lost 4 members of the Guilford High School Class of 84: David Ciardello, Richard Eaton, Ronnie Burns, and Lars Schulze. We almost lost David Fitzpatrick. David Fitzpatrick was our most beloved classmate. He was popular, but always nice to kids on the outskirts like me. Although he was a class clown, he always respected his teachers and often made them laugh along. He was voted best personality and best smile. He was our golden boy, and he made school a lot more fun.

I remember looking around for David at one of our high school reunions, and learned that he had had a nervous breakdown and was living in a group home in a bad neighborhood in New Haven. It was whispered that he had gained a couple of hundred pounds and was zonked out on anti-psychotic drugs. It was one of the heartbreaking stories I had ever heard. No one thought any less of David, we were just sad and we missed him dearly.

Nearly 20 years later, David has emerged from the hell of mental illness. And he isn’t just surviving–he is triumphing. At the age of 40, after nearly 2 decades of institutional living, he went back to college and earned his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in creative writing from Fairfield University. He married a beautiful, intelligent woman who is a professional writer and graphic designer.

Not only is David living a healthy and productive life, he has accomplished every writer’s dream–he has completed a riveting memoir which is being published by HarperCollins, and hits the shelves on August 21st.

Our prayers have been answered. Fitz is back.

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