It’s Only Castles Burning tells the story of the years I spent caring for my mother, father, sister, and brother through their lengthy fights with cancer and of my subsequent mourning. Rather than a book absorbed with death, Castles Burning conveys a tale of growth and perseverance, with a healthy smattering of irreverence tossed in. How does a Jewish kid from suburban New Jersey stumble into a lifetime sentence as a caregiver? When my detour began, I was twenty-five years old—managing a warehouse by day, playing rock ‘n’ roll by night, evading responsibility at every turn. By the time I emerged on the other side—after moving back into, and ultimately selling, the family home—I was on my way to central Pennsylvania to begin life anew as a graduate student in his late thirties. Excerpts from It’s Only Castles Burning have been published in Long Shot, Brevity, Pennsylvania English, and The Lost Peruke. And soon, I hope to reveal the name of the book’s publisher. Stay tuned.
Excerpts from the dead
Kellermann files:
When I Was Twenty-One . . .
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?
A Tribute of My Own
A Good Son
Brian’s
Brains
Thank
God for Valium
Yahrzeit
Coda: Doesn’t
Mr. Kellermann Know That He Has No Hair?