Dennis Lehane
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For your wisdom in selecting Eckerd College and its creative writing program so you could pursue your ambition to become a writer; and

For your compassion for troubled youth evidenced by your service in social work as a student at Eckerd College and continuing in your actions today; and

For your success as the author of the acclaimed detective novels A Drink Before the War, recognized by the Private I. Writers of America with the 1994 Shamus Award; and Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby Gone; and Prayers for Rain;

For your success as the author of Mystic River, a New York Times best seller, acclaimed in a New York Times Book Review to be "a powerhouse"; and for Shutter Island, like Mystic River, destined to become a major motion picture; and

For your devotion to your craft demonstrated by your teaching in renowned writing programs; and

For your commitment to Eckerd College and the next generation of creative writers through your co-founding and co-directing Writers in Paradise in 2005, a writers' workshop rivaling the nation’s best; and your willingness to serve as a writer-in-residence in Academic Year 2005-2006; and

For your love of alma mater when you exclaim, "Coming to Eckerd College was the best decision I ever made,"

Eckerd College confers on Dennis Lehane the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa.