David Rakoff, Writer and Humorist, Dead at 47

At the core of all PR is humanity, and David Rakoff understood humanity like no one else. His insights were naked and powerful, his life heartfelt and poignant. Boldly insecure and damned funny, Rakoff connected with people because he was honest about being sad. For Rakoff, being unhappy was OK, even normal. For many of us, this unwelcome truth was beaten out of us as children and replaced with Santa Claus.