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Doubting Yourself to the Bone
Doubting Yourself to the Bone is a story about the nature of grief, about what it means to be a parent in the face of great sorrow, the idea of re-invented love and hope. Set in Paris and a small town in the Canadian Rockies, the novel is propelled forward by a horrific car crash that reverberates for the victim’s husband and daughters. From a scotch-swilling Tibetan monk to a titillating, imagined waif named Katya, whose uninvited visits are always intriguing, this story serpentines through the labyrinth of grief and pain as the victim’s husband wrestles with the question, was the car crash an accident or intentional? It is a bumpy and strange journey, peopled with a capricious mother, an aging alcoholic uncle, five Buddhist monks in a broken van, and a nudist lesbian, that leads its main character and the reader on the road to salvation.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2005
About the author
Thomas Trofimuk
11 books51 followers• As a writer, he’s published poetry, short-fiction, and novels.
• His first novel, The 52nd Poem, explores the remnants of a love affair as a man sends a poem a week to his lover over the period of a year. The book went on to win a few awards including the 2003 Alberta Novel of the Year and the City of Edmonton Book Prize.
• A second novel, Doubting Yourself to the Bone, is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and has received high praise from critics – including being named as one of the top 100 must read books for 2006 by the Globe & Mail.
• In 2009, Thomas’ third novel, Waiting for Columbus, burst onto the international stage, with a Canadian (McClelland & Stewart) and US (Knopf-Doubleday) release. In 2010, the book was released in the UK (Picador), and was published in Serbia, Brazil, Poland, China, and Quebec. The book was also released as an audio book. Waiting for Columbus won the City of Edmonton Book Prize, was a nominee for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club (UK) pick for fall 2010 and was picked as one of Richard and Judy’s 100 Books of the decade.
• Waiting for Columbus has been optioned for film. Rumours are swirling right now about the possibility of Nicholas Cage playing “Columbus” in the movie.
• This is All a Lie, his fourth (published) novel, gathered stellar reviews across Canada, including a starred review in Quill & Quire, and being named as a top 100 book of 2017 in the National Post.
• Trofimuk is a founding father of Edmonton’s Raving Poets movement, which was an open-stage poetry event held in a bar, with the poets backed up by the Raving Poets Band. He played piano (badly but with gusto) in the Raving Poets band.
• He is a frequent teacher at YouthWrite (http://www.youthwrite.com/), a camp for kids who love to write, and he sits on the board of the YouthWrite Society Canada.
• He also irregularly blogs on his website: “Writer, Gardener, Failed Buddhist.” (www.thomastrofimuk.com)
• Trofimuk has recently taken up kayaking. He loves maps, and charts. He really likes new sheets. He’s a huge fan of single malt whisky. He has been known to smoke cigars. If you offer him wine, he’ll very likely accept.
• He was a “dance dad,” which means he knows more about dance than he ever thought he’d know, and he did a lot of driving back and forth from Shelly’s Dance Studio. He has grown to love dance, and in fact, there’s a dancer in the latest novel, called The Elephant on Karlův Bridge.
• The Elephant on Karlův Bridge, set in Prague, Czech Republic, in which a five-ton African elephant is one of the main characters, is slated for an August 15, 2022 release.
Here's a short and sweet version:
Thomas Trofimuk is a writer of poetry and fiction. He’s published in literary magazines across the country, and on CBC radio. His first novel, The 52nd Poem won the George Bugnet Novel of the Year Award and the City of Edmonton Book Prize at the 2003 Alberta Book Awards. His second novel, the critically acclaimed Doubting Yourself to the Bone, was named as one of the Globe and Mail’s top 100 must-read books for 2006. His third book, Waiting for Columbus, was released in August 2009 in the US, Canada, the UK, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, China and Quebec. Waiting for Columbus won the City of Edmonton Book Prize, was a nominee for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for fall 2010 and was picked as one of Richard and Judy’s 100 Books of the decade. A fourth novel, This is All a Lie was released in 2017 to critical acclaim. The Elephant on Karlův Bridge is set to be released Aug, 2022. Thomas writes on a regular basis for his own website; “writer, gardener, failed Buddhist” at www.thomastrofimuk.com. He lives (and writes) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
• His first novel, The 52nd Poem, explores the remnants of a love affair as a man sends a poem a week to his lover over the period of a year. The book went on to win a few awards including the 2003 Alberta Novel of the Year and the City of Edmonton Book Prize.
• A second novel, Doubting Yourself to the Bone, is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and has received high praise from critics – including being named as one of the top 100 must read books for 2006 by the Globe & Mail.
• In 2009, Thomas’ third novel, Waiting for Columbus, burst onto the international stage, with a Canadian (McClelland & Stewart) and US (Knopf-Doubleday) release. In 2010, the book was released in the UK (Picador), and was published in Serbia, Brazil, Poland, China, and Quebec. The book was also released as an audio book. Waiting for Columbus won the City of Edmonton Book Prize, was a nominee for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club (UK) pick for fall 2010 and was picked as one of Richard and Judy’s 100 Books of the decade.
• Waiting for Columbus has been optioned for film. Rumours are swirling right now about the possibility of Nicholas Cage playing “Columbus” in the movie.
• This is All a Lie, his fourth (published) novel, gathered stellar reviews across Canada, including a starred review in Quill & Quire, and being named as a top 100 book of 2017 in the National Post.
• Trofimuk is a founding father of Edmonton’s Raving Poets movement, which was an open-stage poetry event held in a bar, with the poets backed up by the Raving Poets Band. He played piano (badly but with gusto) in the Raving Poets band.
• He is a frequent teacher at YouthWrite (http://www.youthwrite.com/), a camp for kids who love to write, and he sits on the board of the YouthWrite Society Canada.
• He also irregularly blogs on his website: “Writer, Gardener, Failed Buddhist.” (www.thomastrofimuk.com)
• Trofimuk has recently taken up kayaking. He loves maps, and charts. He really likes new sheets. He’s a huge fan of single malt whisky. He has been known to smoke cigars. If you offer him wine, he’ll very likely accept.
• He was a “dance dad,” which means he knows more about dance than he ever thought he’d know, and he did a lot of driving back and forth from Shelly’s Dance Studio. He has grown to love dance, and in fact, there’s a dancer in the latest novel, called The Elephant on Karlův Bridge.
• The Elephant on Karlův Bridge, set in Prague, Czech Republic, in which a five-ton African elephant is one of the main characters, is slated for an August 15, 2022 release.
Here's a short and sweet version:
Thomas Trofimuk is a writer of poetry and fiction. He’s published in literary magazines across the country, and on CBC radio. His first novel, The 52nd Poem won the George Bugnet Novel of the Year Award and the City of Edmonton Book Prize at the 2003 Alberta Book Awards. His second novel, the critically acclaimed Doubting Yourself to the Bone, was named as one of the Globe and Mail’s top 100 must-read books for 2006. His third book, Waiting for Columbus, was released in August 2009 in the US, Canada, the UK, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, China and Quebec. Waiting for Columbus won the City of Edmonton Book Prize, was a nominee for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, it was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for fall 2010 and was picked as one of Richard and Judy’s 100 Books of the decade. A fourth novel, This is All a Lie was released in 2017 to critical acclaim. The Elephant on Karlův Bridge is set to be released Aug, 2022. Thomas writes on a regular basis for his own website; “writer, gardener, failed Buddhist” at www.thomastrofimuk.com. He lives (and writes) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 14, 2023
This book just wasn’t for me. I liked some aspects of it, including the monks and the characters had some depth to them, but like others, I found the second person writing really annoying after a while, and there were some sentences and sections which didn’t seem to make much sense. The imaginary woman baffled me and added little to the story - it just made the overall plot hard to follow. Not for me I’m afraid.
February 19, 2025
A sad yet hopeful tale of a recent widower who was just in the throws of grappling with a possible marital separation when his wife died. He is left with two pre-teen daughters to comfort and raise as he fights his own doubts and demons. He moves them to the small town of Field BC to start fresh in the mountains. Along the way he is helped by 5 stranded monks, a friend and lover of his wife and his own Parisienne lover.
Nice little feature--the author is Canadian from Edmonton and the story has all sorts of references to Alberta and BC landmarks and places. Makes it feel very familiar.
Nice little feature--the author is Canadian from Edmonton and the story has all sorts of references to Alberta and BC landmarks and places. Makes it feel very familiar.
June 4, 2017
When Moira James dies in a car crash while taking a time-out from her marriage, her husband Ronin moves himself and his two daughters to a tiny town in British Columbia to try to reassemble their lives. The stunning mountain scenery makes an incredible backdrop to the grief Trofimuk explores in his incredible, heart-opening story. It has been one of my favourite books since I snagged it on a whim in the library one day. I liked the title. I love the writing. Every page has poetry on it. There's weight to the grief, to the range of emotions. Depth to the confusion. There are also monks. Scotch. Wine. Music. This book always makes me want to put on some classical and pour myself a drink; I could see it being a problem for a recovering alcoholic. There is also a lot of emphasis on womens' bodies that rubs me the wrong way. Of the five adult women in the story, four are depicted on the basis of their sexual attractiveness to Ronin. But I can't tell you what Ronin looks like. This gets under my skin. As I mentioned at the beginning the novel is built around an automobile accident death, but there are also discussions of bombings and suicide. Some not-great language surrounding abortions. While Ronin doesn't outright condemn abortions, the words he chooses when discussing them are pretty judgmental and someone who actually supported a woman having the right to choose what happened to her own body would most likely use different language. Again, not outright anti-choice, but not as good as it could have been. No book is perfect. For the delight I have gotten - and continue to get - from this wonderful work I am content to overlook a few flaws.
May 29, 2011
my words are completely inadequate to describe the beauty and truth of this book. poetic, aided by the fact that it's set in several wonderful places i've actually been to: Field(in BC not too far from Banff), Vancouver Island, and Edmonton. it's about a family trying to reconcile the death/possibly suicide of their wife/mother. there's a quintet of buddhist monks, a bartender/handiman, and a lesbian hotel manager thrown in to add spice and help things along. it's unique and unpretentious and it's fantastic.
July 13, 2012
Clean, true, wistful, poetic, this is a beautiful, poignent book about loss and recovery, leavened with an intermittent thread of subtle, quirky humour.
A father of two young girls first finds himself alone when his wife leaves him for uncertain reasons, and then, a matter of weeks later, widowed when his wife is killed in a (deliberate?) tragic accident. His journey through grief, anger, and doubt to acceptance and healing is told with compassion, honesty, and tenderness. Gorgeous book.
A father of two young girls first finds himself alone when his wife leaves him for uncertain reasons, and then, a matter of weeks later, widowed when his wife is killed in a (deliberate?) tragic accident. His journey through grief, anger, and doubt to acceptance and healing is told with compassion, honesty, and tenderness. Gorgeous book.
February 11, 2008
I love this book.
TTs first novel The 52nd poem is written in the second person, something he described in his talk as his 'tic'. This book begins the same way and that style is a little difficult just because it is different to read. However the book is well worth the effort.
What can I say, sometimes we need a little pathology of grief.
TTs first novel The 52nd poem is written in the second person, something he described in his talk as his 'tic'. This book begins the same way and that style is a little difficult just because it is different to read. However the book is well worth the effort.
What can I say, sometimes we need a little pathology of grief.
May 28, 2009
There were some really beautiful things in this book, and it was a good story with both humour and sadness.
However, the use of the second person viewpoint drove me insane and reduced my enjoyment of the book.
However, the use of the second person viewpoint drove me insane and reduced my enjoyment of the book.
December 21, 2011
Absolutely loved this novel. Set in Alberta and British Columbia, it tells the story of a man trying to rebuild his family life after tragedy strikes. The cast of characters is intriguing and the story never flags. Highly recommended.
March 6, 2009
Excellent book - loved the monks! I met Thomas at a conference in Edmonton last year. Heckuva writer; heckuva musician; heckuva guy!
February 7, 2016
Thomas Trofimuk honestly conveys the heart of his characters and explores the depths of what it means to be human. I loved the references to places in Alberta that I know and have memories of.
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September 2, 2008I learned how to be a better writer by working with a great editor, on this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews