Cai Emmons (1951 – 2023) was an award-winning American author. Emmons died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 71 years old. The cause of death was ruled ALS.
Books
* ''His Mother’s Son'' (Harcourt, 2003)
Oregon Book Award: Ken Kesey Award for the Novel, Booksense and Literary Guild selection
* ''The Stylist'' (HarperCollins, 2007)
* ''Weather Woman'' (Red Hen Press, 2018
Nautilus Book Award
* ''Vanishing: Five Stories'' (Leapfrog Press, 2020) Winner of the 201
Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize
* ''Sinking Islands'' (Red Hen Press, 2021) May Sarton Award
equel to ''Weather Woman''* ''Unleashed'' (Dutton, 2022)
* ''Livid'' (Red Hen Press, 2022)
Plays
“Mergatroid” and “When Petulia Comes,” teleplays for the CBS series ''The Trials of Rosie O’Neill''.
Personal life
In 2021, Emmons received a diagnosis that explained troubling physical symptoms she had been experiencing: Bulbar-onset ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...
, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Bulbar ALS, a neuromuscular disease, first attacks muscles of the head and neck, including vocal cords.
She continued to write, sending her final manuscript for a novel to the publisher just before her death. It is scheduled for release in October 2025.
Death with Dignity
Legacy Cai Emmons Fiction Award
Red Hen Press. To honor the life and legacy of novelist Cai Emmons
Vanishing: A Love Story
', Documentary feature-length film, Ojeda Films, 2025. Sandra Luckow, Director; Sandra Luckow, Kat Vecchio, Producers;
Sheila Nevins
Sheila Nevins (born April 6, 1939) is an American television producer and former head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Entertainment Studios. Previously, Nevins was the president of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 docu ...
and Paul Calandrino, Executive Producers
Quentin Chiappetta
Composer.
References
1950s births
Year of birth missing
2023 deaths
American writers
Deaths from motor neuron disease
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