The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2016
A conversation with author David Payne ’73
By Daneet Steffens ’82
David Payne ’73 wrote five critically acclaimed novels before turning his hand to memoir. The result, Barefoot to Avalon, is an unblinking look at the devastating effects that collusion replicates across generations. “We were a family and believed that family love was stronger than time or death, except it wasn’t” echoes in various permutations through Payne’s prose as he comes to grips with his brother’s bipolar disorder and his own scarred but resilient psyche. Avalon — lauded in 2015 as a Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book, an Amazon Best of Biographies & Memoirs and an Amazon Best Book — is a triumphant story of grasping in the darkness for the scary bits hidden there, catching them, bringing them to light and, ultimately, alleviating their impact.
Read the interview: https://www.exeter.edu/exeter_bulletin/12984_18242.aspx