I cried earlier in the week when I heard that Roger's cancer had returned, and I cried again when I heard he had passed. I can't even read retrospectives of his life, it makes me too sad. Of course, I'm not alone in this reaction. Everyone recognized his genius as a writer.
There are many of Roger's books and essays that I can go back to, thankfully, but I will so miss his voice in our world now. Whenever I watched a movie, I immediately wanted to know what Roger Ebert thought about it. And talk about prolific: he's written about nearly every movie out there. I always love to know what smart people think about a work of art, and his opinion was everything to me. For example, I just watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the review he wrote crystalized what I loved about the film. His writing was accessible, thought-provoking, laugh-out-loud funny, and most of all, life-affirming. Rest in peace, Roger, and thank you for your work.
