I Will Not Leave You Comfortless

Spanning one year of the author's life, I Will Not Leave You Comfortless is the intimate memoir of a boy's coming to consciousness in small-town Missouri, from a writer who "is known for beautifully expressive and strikingly lucid prose" (Thisbe Nissen). 1984 is the year that greets Jackson with first loves, first losses, and a break from the innocence of boyhood that will never be fully repaired. The seeming security of family is at once and forever shaken by the life-altering events of that pivotal year. Through tenderhearted, steadfast prose--redolent of the glories of outdoor life on the family farm--Jackson recalls the deeply sensual wonders of his rural Midwestern childhood--bicycle rides in September sunlight; the horizon vanishing behind tall grasses. Reanimating stories both heart wrenching and humorous, tragic and triumphant, Jackson weaves past, present, and future into the rich Missouri landscape. With storytelling informed by profound sense of place and an emotional memory remarkably sound, Jackson stands poised to join the ranks of renowned memoirists.