Lunging into the Underbrush: A Life Lived Backward

by David Homel

In 1970, David Homel escaped the American draft by moving to Paris. But a hiking accident in Spain led to a harrowing journey through botched surgeries, opiate addiction, the loneliness of a crippled traveler, and the constant pain that would define his life for years to come.



Today, planning to stay in the game as long as possible, he has a few ideas about how to do just that. By confronting body image issues, performance anxiety, and the challenges of desire, Homel draws an affecting portrait of the battle between Eros and Melancholy. Which one will prevail in this story we call our lives?

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2021

About the author

David Homel was born and raised in Chicago in 1952. He has been a journalist, editor, literary translator, and teacher, and has won numerous awards for translation, including the Governor General’s Award for Literature, Canada’s highest literary honor.

He is the author of several novels, including The Speaking Cure, which won the J.I. Segal Award from the Jewish Public Library, and the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Best Fiction from the Quebec Writer's Federation. He has also written children's books, including Travels with my Family, which was co-authored with his wife, Canadian children's author Marie-Louise Gay. He has translated several French works, receiving two Governor General's Literary Awards for translation. Homel was born and raised in Chicago and currently resides in Montreal.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Homel's memoir on aging is very interesting because he has come through it in reverse to most people. What he endured as well as his observations and experience on life and aging is a very special read. His book opens your mind about relationships, friendships and the rewards that life continues to bring to those who want to live it.

[Patricia Boksa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part was relatively interesting, the rest not too much, in my opinion.