Escaping Darkness

by Michael Rosenbaum

In the tradition of such stellar writers as Cormac McCarthy, Harry Crews and James Agee, Escaping Darkness is the haunting tale of Donny Wayne Gavin, a young man driven to the edge of insanity by divorce and his brother's death in Vietnam. Neglected by an alcoholic father, tormented by his pious mother’s sexual escapades and oppressed by the mountainous region in which he lives, Donny attempts suicide by jumping off a hotel’s seventeenth floor ledge. However, at the last moment his attempt is stymied by a homeless woman named Mary, who helps Donny embark upon a spiritual quest that enables him to confront the demons within. Sadly though Donny’s realizations later turn to dust and he is left once more standing at the crossroads of self-destruction and desperation facing life on the streets, suicide, or both. Filled with hope and despair, sexual tension, black humor, southern mysticism and moral drama, Escaping Darkness is the bittersweet story of adversity almost overcome and one man's journey through the unforgiving world of Southern Appalachia.

188 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2011

About the author

Michael Rosenbaum is a former paratrooper and a longtime martial artist whose books have been published nationally and internationally. He was a desk clerk at the Andrew Johnson Hotel from 1977 to 1979.
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Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting and realistic. Rosenbaum's tale is one that will keep you wondering right up until the story's end. The characters are well developed and realistic and the setting will appeal to Knoxvillians. His novel is described as a coming of age work, but inclueds much more. From Gays to homeless veterans he pulls no punches.