Formulary Book Club: The Pillars of the Earth

Terry Heatherington, BSPhar ’66, has our April ’23 book recommendation

Story and photo by Ryan McDaniel | Published April 25, 2023

Each month, the Formulary Book Club introduces a staff, student, faculty, or alumni of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and gets their recommendation for a great read.

This month we meet Terry Heatherington, a 1966 alumnus of the School and retired retail pharmacist. Terry’s Formulary Book Club recommendation is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

The story takes place in the 12th century and follows devout Monk, Father Philip of Kingsbridge, and his quest to build the greatest Gothic Cathedral in the world. Terry describes it as, “A story of greed, power, ambition, and strife all powerfully detailed in such a way as to make you feel as though you know these people and are there with them.”

“[Ken Follett’s] first five international best sellers were all spy thrillers,” Terry explains. “When he informed his publishers that he was going to write a novel based on the latter Middle Agess they were understandably quite alarmed and worried that Follett would fail in this totally different genre; quite the opposite as ‘Pillars’ is probably Follett’s most loved book!”

After graduating from the UNC School of Pharmacy in 1966, Terry worked in retail pharmacy with CVS, retiring in 2014. During his time at the School, Terry was a member of both Kappa Psi and Rho Chi. In 2017, he and his wife, Donna, established a scholarship in honor of Terry’s mother, the Dene O. Heatherington Pharmacy Scholarship Endowment Fund. In addition to reading, Terry and Donna enjoy gardening and travel.

Thank you, Terry, for a great book recommendation!