Celebrated author Steve
McKee will discuss his latest
book, a memoir entitled “My
Father’s Heart: A Son’s
Journey” on Friday, Nov.7 as
part of the colleges’
Wordsmith Reading Series.
The memoir is an insight of
the loss of McKee’s father,
John, after he succumbed to
heart disease when the author
was 16. Throughout the
book, the author expresses
his feelings and efforts to deal
with the loss of his father, and
to deal with the effects of
heart disease.
The book features a picture
of McKee with his father
when he was a young boy.
This stirs the emotions of the
reader because on that fateful
evening in 1969 when his
father died, it was just the
two of them home.
“My Father’s Heart” started
as a college-writing assignment
when McKee was a student
at De Sales University.
It took off into a pair of articles
for the Wall Street
Journal, and was featured in
the health section of The
Washington Post.
His book has been featured
on The Today Show, The
Washington Post, and on
Weekend Edition with Scott
Simon on National Public
Radio.
McKee’s official website,
steve-mckee.com, said, “In
2005, after a lifetime spent
trying to avoid his father’s
fate, Steve learned that he,
too, has serious heart disease.”
As a result of this,
many of his other appearances
have planned heartfriendly
meals.
Reviews for his work have
been well-received.
Kirkus Reviews said the
book was “Homage to love,
perseverance and the pursuit
of longevity.”
LibraryJournal.com highly
recommended the book for
memoir readers.
McKee plunged into writing
when he was a journalism
student at the University of
Alaska-Fairbanks.
He later spent 14 years at
The Wall Street Journal, covering
the Olympics in Salt
Lake City and the recent
games in Beijing.
He is currently an editor on
the Wall Street Journal’s global
copy desk.
The author has also penned
two books focusing on a
genre the author loves:
sports.
In “The Call of the Game,”
he traveled the country
attending sports events as big
as the Super bowl to lesserknown
events such as the
national tiddlywinks championship.
His other book, “Coach,” is
an oral history from coaches
of different sports at all different
competition levels.
McKee lives in York, Pa.,
with his wife, Noreen and his
17-year-old son Patrick.
Among his interests are reading
novels about history and
the 11-book series Horatio
Hornblower, and keeping fit
by working out. He recently
competed in a triathlon with
his son.
For more information about
the book and McKee’s life,
attend the reading on Nov. 7
at 7:30 p.m. in the Orangery.
Admission is free. Contact
Elizabeth Luciano at (215)968-
8395, [email protected] or
Chris Bursk at (215)968-8156,
or [email protected].