Atwood’s partner dies on book publicity tour
MARGARET ATWOOD’S long-term partner has died of a stroke in London while accompanying the writer on a promotional tour for her sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale.
Graeme Gibson, 85, who had been suffering from dementia, died at University College Hospital on Wednesday with friends and family at his bedside.
Atwood, 79, said the family had been devastated by his death but relieved he had “achieved” a “swift exit”.
Gibson, a highly regarded novelist and conservationist, had flown to the UK with Atwood from their home in Canada to launch The Testaments. In a family statement, Atwood said: “We are devastated by the loss of Graeme, our beloved father, grandfather, and spouse, but we are happy that he achieved the kind of swift exit he wanted and avoided the decline into further dementia that he feared. He had a lovely last few weeks and he went out on a high, surrounded by love, friendship and appreciation. We are grateful for his wise, ethical and committed life.”
Gibson was the author of four novels and co-founder of both the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Writers’ Trust of Canada. He had lived with Atwood for the “past several decades” in Toronto. While continuing to write, she became his primary carer with the onset of his dementia. Following the stroke, Atwood cancelled a number of engagements to promote her novel.