Grand prize winner 2017 North Street Book Prize! Paul C. Thornton is originally from Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. The Joy of Cruising is Paul's second book, a stark departure from his first: White Man's Disease, a memoir described as ""gripping and inspiring"" in the press release announcing it as the winner of the North Street Book Prize, about Paul's harrowing brush with death, journey of recovery from trauma, resilience and ultimately transformation. White Man's Disease is at once poignant, sad, tragic and funny. Despite their very different subjects, at the heart of both White Man's Disease and The Joy of Cruising is passion and how passionate people do wondrous things. Paul lives in Fort Myers, Florida with his wife Cheryl and considers cruising with their grandchildren life's ultimate escape. Paul longs to cruise as much as the people he writes about in The Joy of Cruising.