Ian Brown is probably the finest non-fiction writer in the country and his new book, The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Search for His Disabled Son, is fabulous. Don’t let the subject matter fool you into thinking this is a grim read. Sure, it is, in places, sad, and occasionally angry, and always unflinching in its honesty, but it is never despairing; instead, it’s full of wisdom, humour and hope. I was in awe of the guy who wrote it: not just Brown, the supremely talented writer (that was certainly no surprise to me), but of Brown, the man — a guy, who by his own admission is no saint, but who is so devoted to his son Walker.
I will be interviewing Ian Brown at McNally Robinson’s Toronto store on October 13 at 8 pm. That’s a particularly intimidating prospect for me not just because I’ve never interviewed anyone in public before, but because I’ve watched him on stage with some of my favourite writers — including Tobias Wolff, Nicholson Baker and Jim Harrison — and he is the best I’ve ever seen at public author interviews. Still, my apprehension can’t match the honour I feel at the prospect of discussing his brilliant new book with him.