“It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.”

John Updike (1932 - 2009),  Prolific American writer born in Reading, Pennsylvania. His work included 22 novels, many short stories, poetry and literary criticism. He was known for his careful craftsmanship and "realistic but subtle depiction of American, Protestant, small-town, middle-class” life. Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered. More 

Source: John Updike, My Father's Tears and Other Stories.