J K Rowling read to dying fan

Harry Potter author J K Rowling read her latest stories over the phone to a dying nine-year-old fan so the youngster would know what happened in the children\'s books before she died, it has been revealed.


The writer phoned Catie Hoch in the US to read out stories from her unpublished manuscripts, according to the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

J K Rowling had been communicating with Catie through e-mails, gifts and phone calls so that the nine-year-old would know how the Harry Potter stories developed before she passed away.

After Catie, from Albany in New York, died the author told her parents their little girl had left, "footprints on my heart", and she was, "Braver than Harry".

Rowling also made a private donation of £75,000 to a cancer fund set up in memory of the tragic youngster.

Catie\'s mother, Gina, told the Sunday Mirror: "I will be forever grateful for what Joanne did. She gave us something priceless by having this relationship with Catie.

"She touched her in ways we could never have imagined."

The youngster was six when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.

Catie and her mum were nearly at the end of the third book, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, when doctors revealed the youngster only had weeks to live.

Catie was desperate to know what happened in the fourth book, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, which Rowling was working on at the time.

So a family friend sent an e-mail to the author\'s publishers in London - and days later the author sent back a personally written letter, calling herself simply Jo.

The two began exchanging letters and e-mails during the course of their amazing friendship.

Gina, 43, revealed that one e-mail read: "Dear Catie, I am working very hard on book four at the moment...on a bit that involves some new creatures Hagrid has brought along for the care of Magical Creatures classes. You are an extremely brave person and a true Gryffindor. With lots of love, J K Rowling (Jo to anybody in Gryffindor)."

But when Rowling realised that Catie only had days to live, she telephoned from her Edinburgh home to read the latest tales about the young wizard over the phone.

Gina added: "We laid Catie down on the couch, and Jo read to her over the phone parts of the manuscript. Catie\'s face lit up."

The author rang three or four more times but Catie grew so ill she could not longer listen. She died on May 18, 2000.



Original Source

[GmanJoe]

*sniff*

that was nice of her.

yeah, nice when famous peep take time out of there lives to help those those more unfortunate

That is a heart-breaking story...

[Kurt Angle]

Good to see she cares for her fans in their hour of need.

[Living-In-Clip]

Good public stunt. That\'s about it.

Originally posted by Living-In-Clip
Good public stunt. That\'s about it.

I agree, she\'s obviously completely heartless and only in it for the money.

It doesn\'t really matter what her reasons were, at least she put a smile on the kids face.

Anyway, when you\'re someone like J K Rowling you\'ll get publicised for anything out of the ordinary, may as well do something good.

I don\'t mind she\'s a popular woman, I liked what she did: to tell a secret story to a boy who wouldn\'t have the possibility to know afterwards. She won lots of points in my respect list.