Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Styron dies from pneumonia at 81

William Styron, the man who penned some of fictions most haunting truths about the human mind and condition, died Wednesday in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Drawing from his own experience in depression, loss and personal guilt Styron’s novels touched a nerve in the literary world. His first published work, “Lie Down in Darkness” dealt with the destructive forces of alcoholism, insanity and suicide inside a Southern family.

Styron earned the Pulitzer Prize Award for his novel “Confessions of Nat Turner” in which he depicts the man who led the deadliest slave revolt in pre Civil War America. Published in 1967, “Confessions of Nat Turner” drew the anger of many blacks and whites alike. He was called “psychologically sick” by groups who felt the portrayal of Nat Turner was inadequate and off base.

Growing up in Virginia, and a descendent of a slave owner, Styron felt the guilt associated with his family’s past. He often called Nat Turner’s revolt the most significant uprising in American history.

Perhaps best known for his novel “Sophie’s Choice”, Styron continued to receive criticism for portraying characters that he would know nothing about. While Styron won the National Book Award for “Sophie’s Choice”, critics questioned what he would know about being a Polish-Catholic woman who survived the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.   

While Styron had his critics, few could argue with his mastery of the language and his ability to transfer emotion to paper. Long time friend and fellow author Kurt Vonnegut called Styron “strong and proud” and it was those traits kept him writing when he faced not only detractors but his own demons. 

It was his inner struggle and battles with depression that led him to write the short book “Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness” in which he hints that some of his previous characters were inspired by his own experiences with depression.

Styron was a social leader for many causes and he took an activist role in issues ranging from human rights for Jews in the former Soviet Union to protesting a proposed Disney theme park near the Manassas National Battlefield in northern Virginia.