Angels-BURNHAM, SOPHY

Sophy Burnham is the best-selling author of the nonfiction books A
Book of Angels (1990) and Angel Letters (1991) and the novels Revelations
(1992) and The President’s Angel (1993).
Burnham did not set out to publish A Book of Angels. Its genesis
began much earlier in her life, when at the age of twenty-eight,
according to Burnham, an angel saved her life. In her book, she
describes this incident when, as she was about to tumble off a cliff
while skiing, a skier dressed in black positioned himself in front her to
interrupt her fall. He then disappeared. Burnham kept this encounter
a secret for almost twenty years, and then began to collect all the mysterious
and inexplicable things that had happened to her in her life
and to people who were very close to her.
In the late 1980s an equally remarkable incident took place that
led to the writing of The President’s Angel. Burnham had read a biography
of Padre Pio, which said that the Italian priest, who died in 1964,
would answer prayers addressed to him. Through Padre Pio, Burnham
asked God to show her what she could do to help promote peace on
earth. Immediately, a sentence popped into her head, and then another
sentence: “It was on the 695th day of his reign that the President
saw the angel. He awoke from a light and fitful sleep to see the form balancing on the end of his bed.” She immediately started writing the
sentences down and in this way, she wrote the first chapter. Burnham
completed the novel and it was published in 1992.
Burnham stands out among angel writers. Her appeal can, in part,
be contributed to a distinctly objective style. Her approach is scholarly
and focused and she illuminates her readers without lapsing into
doggeral sentimentality. A Book of Angels, for example, recounts not
only present-day angel encounters, but also explores angels throughout
history and among various cultures.
Burnham was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1936 and graduated
cum laude from Smith College in 1958. She has also written juvenile
fiction and numerous plays. Ms. Burnham is currently serving as the
manager of the Fund for New American Plays in Washington, D.C.