munsch, 76, one of canada’s most beloved storytellers — behind the paper bag princess, love you forever, mortimer and thomas’ snowsuit — did an in-depth interview last week revealing that he is struggling with dementia.
social media lit up with an outpouring of love for the author, with this tweet from bob rae typical of the response: “robert munsch brings such sheer joy into our lives #loveyouforever robert.”
it is characteristic of the author to go public with his dementia. munsch has struggled with mental health and addiction issues most of his adult life and has been upfront about it all, stating on his website that he was diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive.
he says on his website: “along the way i became canada’s best-selling author, but i was not selling much in the u.s.a. then love you forever came out as a canadian book in 1986. i had written it as a memorial for two stillborn babies we had in 1979 and 1980. the story actually started out as a song.”
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as a young man, h e spent seven years studying to be a jesuit priest — working in a an orphanage as part of his theological training made him aware that he liked working with kids.
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