Evan Alan Wright, whose visceral book about the Iraq war “Generation Kill” became the HBO miniseries by the same name, has died by suicide. He was 59 years old.
Wright’s death was confirmed by his sister, Nora Wright, who told TheWrap that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his teenage years and said, “People need to talk about what’s hurting them.”
His nephew Jacob Goldin told TheWrap, “We didn’t always see eye to eye, but the past couple of weeks I was in close contact with him. He was talking to me a lot about [his trauma] specifically, and that he wanted to come see me. He truly felt unhinged to a certain degree and was not acting himself. He was not communicating the way he usually communicates. This sense that I got was that he was almost running from something. I didn’t think he was in crisis to this extent.”
Wright traveled to war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq to report for Rolling Stone. He earned a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004 for his articles written for the outlet — titled “The Killer Elite” — while he was embedded with the U.S. Marine Corps. He also wrote an exposé about a top CIA officer who allegedly worked as a Mafia hitman, “How to Get Away With Murder in America.”
“Generation Kill,” about the young soldiers of the video game generation who were sent to war in Iraq, was adapted into an HBO miniseries from “The Wire” creator David Simon in 2008. Wright served as a writer on the miniseries alongside Simon and Ed Burns, and was portrayed in the show by actor Lee Tergesen.
He also was a writer on “Homeland.”
His 2002 true crime article “Mad Dogs & Lawyers” was included in “The Best American Crime Writing” for true crime.
Wright was also known for his extensive reporting for Rolling Stone, Time and Vanity Fair. He compiled his best work for the outlets in 2009’s “Hella Nation.”
Wright was featured in the just-released the Max docuseries “Teen Torture Inc.” and also wrote about his experience at The Seed juvenile delinquent center in his book “The Seed: A Memoir.” He had long referenced The Seed as a violent, abusive experience that led to severe PTSD in his life.
Wright described the reality of life at Seed as a “grab bag of all these different programs based on the idea that no matter what it takes, we’re gonna make these kids follow the rules because what they’re doing is so dangerous, it will destroy their lives.”
In recent days, he had been tweeting frequently about the program he was sent to as a teen, and revisiting those traumas. On July 10, Wright wrote, “Anyone who sees the documentary I’m in this week could reasonably conclude that I’ve probably done a lot of work on my mental health ever since those experiences I had… And it’s true, but I’m still searching for a support group for Adult Children of Alcoholic Lawyers.”
The following day he referenced Paris Hilton’s testimony about her own experience at a center for teens. “Whenever I see victims of these programs speak out, I always think, ‘that’s my brother or sister,’” Wright tweeted. “I feel a bond with anyone who went through this. Then I saw Paris Hilton‘s testimony & I realized, ‘Oh, s–t she’s my sister, too?’ But yes, it’s a big, messed up family of us.”
His 2011 book “American Desperado” told the story of Mafia soldier and well-known cocaine smuggler Jon Roberts. In a 2011 interview with Cleveland.com, Wright explained, “The whole book is structured around Jon learning this proposition from his father and then testing it the rest of his life. By the time he has a son in the end, he — for reasons not even he understands — abandons it. He gains empathy for his son. That is something I observed and is real, so far as I can tell.”
Wright explained his affinity for the darker sides of humanity in the same interview. “I try to see things as they are, not as they ought to be. It’s not like there’s some weird, little, small ‘underbelly’ part of America that requires a passport and vaccinations to get to,” he said.
“In my experience, probably a third of all people in public life — from county politicians, to celebrities, to self-proclaimed business gurus, etc. — are liars, crooks, sociopaths of some sort. I think most average people are good and trusting, and want to see the best in others. And the irony is this goodness is what allows all the people I write about to succeed, or achieve public acclaim,” Wright added.
To detox, he said, “I spend as much time as I can in nature — forest, desert, oceanside. Closest thing I know of to going to church.”
Wright was from Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Vassar College and graduated with a degree in medieval and Renaissance studies. His first job “with a steady paycheck and a dental plan” was reviewing pornography for Hustler. Prior to that job, his first interview was with Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a political opponent of the African National Conference in South Africa. Wright interviewed Buthelezi in exchange for two free copies of a small magazine.
Journalism was a natural calling born of necessity, he told Cleveland.com. “I failed at everything else,” Wright said. “I was optimistic. It was a refuge for rogues and miscreants. So far, it has exceeded my expectations.”
He is survived by his wife Kelli, sons Carter and Evan Jr. and daughter Kennedy. Survivors also include his sister, Nora Wright, and two nephews, Jacob and Matthew Goldin.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988 is a free, 24/7 confidential service that can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information and local resources.
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