“Winning is a state of mind that embraces everything you do.”

Bryce Courtenay

This week I had planned to introduce you to an English poet renowned for one of the most popular nursery rhymes in history, but sadly, I learned the news on Friday that Bryce Courtenay had passed away.  So this week’s blog is a tribute to the legend responsible for The Power of One. 

Bryce was born on the 14^th of August 1933 in Johannesburg. After studying in London, he moved to Australia with his future wife and they married in 1959 making their home in Sydney.  As a journalist, Courtenay had many successful ad campaigns, but it was his books that drew me to him. 

When I first read The Power of One, I didn’t think it would be the type of story that I would enjoy, but I was wrong and I found that it was the kind of book that you tell your friends to read.  I guess though, my favourite Courtenay novel is April Fool’s Day.  I received this book as a gift in a work Kris Kringle one year and as I read the book, I found it harder and harder to put it down. The story is about Damon Courtenay and his struggle with AIDS which he contracted through a blood transfusion.  It’s difficult to imagine the pain that the family went through during that time and it was probably just as difficult to put into words. As I read page after page of revealing text, I imagined the heart ache for the Courtenays as they faced the day to day challenges of the situation.  It’s a must if you like biographies, and who better to write one than a member of the family.

My favourite of his books

 

As I think of the work that Bryce Courtenay was responsible for, I am reminded of the books that were made into movies and although I prefer the book, I sometimes like to sit through a movie adaption to see if it measures up.  I did this with The Power of One and it wasn’t a disappointment. The lifestyle and situations in Courtenay’s novels seem as real as the pages they’re written on and I’m sure I’m not alone in shedding a tear or two whilst bidding farewell to such a profound writer.

The passing of Bryce Courtenay is a blow to the world of literature, but his work will keep him in our lives forever and so I end this tribute by saying that Once upon a time in Canberra, we lost the man who told us that, ‘when men can be made to hope, they can be made to win.’

Rest In Peace Bryce Courtenay 1933-2012