FRYEBURG — Before the awards and the best-selling books, Casey Sherman was a transplant from Cape Cod trying to make sense of life after the death of his father.

Now, decades after graduating from Fryeburg Academy as class president, Sherman said he’s giving back to the school that changed his life. 

“I began going down a dark path,” he said. “My mother and I came to the conclusion that a change of scenery would be helpful and a family friend introduced me to Fryeburg Academy.”

An award-winning author, he’s appeared on national media outlets such as CNN, Fox News, Discovery Channel and the History Channel. He has also worked as a news producer and is a contributing writer to Esquire magazine.

A host of documents from his best-selling books will be donated to the academy in what will become a permanent, open collection in the library. The Casey Sherman Collection will include awards, manuscripts, correspondence, published books, first drafts, interviews, documentaries and photographs, according to the academy’s website. It will also include hand-written notes from the death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Sherman will also give lectures and writing workshops to aspiring students. 

“If my involvement helps a student on their path to becoming a writer, I’ll be most proud,” he said.  

His book, “Boston Strong,” on the events preceding the 2013 marathon bombing and the city’s emotional response, is the basis of a major motion picture in development.

The film version of “The Finest Hours,” his and Michael J. Tougias’ book on the Coast Guard’s rescue of more than 30 stranded sailors in a sinking oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952, will be released in January.  

Sherman, who graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 1988, said when he was at the academy he was mentored by guidance counselor Ken Brown, who became a surrogate father. When Brown died recently, Sherman, already in talks with the academy about donating his collection, began to reflect upon his own life.

“I want to provide students a better understanding about the evolution of writing so they can see . . . the writing process from draft to draft,” Sherman said. 

Head of School Erin Mayo at Fryeburg Academy said in an email that the academy is proud of Sherman’s accomplishments. 

“His success as represented by his archive will be an inspiration for future writers,” Mayo said. 

ccrosby@sunmediagroup.net