The author of Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt has died at the age of 78 in New York. McCourt wrote about his early years as the son of Angela and Malachy McCourt during the great depression in Limerick, Ireland.
McCourt was one of seven children born to Angela McCourt. Four of his siblings died while children.
In
Limerick, Malachy McCourt turned to alcohol. He rarely held a job leaving Angela to manage the family on her own.
Frank McCourt wrote Angela's Ashes in 1996, earning the Pulitzer Prize the next year.
Mr. McCourt was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2008. He was also being treated for
meningitis.
He is survived by wife Ellen, one daughter, one granddaughter and two grandsons.
