The Man in the Empty Boat - Softcover

"If there were a prize for most winning writer, Mark Salzman would cop it." --The New York Times "The concreteness and economy of Salzman's writing, his eye and ear for tiny resonant details . . . eventually yield their riches in a clear-eyed vision." --New York "Mark Salzman is a delightful writer with a keen eye. He's full of compassion and humor." --St. Petersburg Times "Salzman is a gifted storyteller, able in short order to capture the look, feel, even the smell of everyday." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

From the author of Iron & Silk comes a moving memoir of love and family, loss and spiritual yearning Anxiety has always been part of Mark Salzman's life: He was born into a family as nervous as rabbits, people with extra angst coded into their genes. As a young man he found solace through martial arts, meditation, tai chi, and rigorous writing schedules, but as he approaches midlife, he confronts a year of catastrophe. First, Salzman suffers a crippling case of writer's block; then a sudden family tragedy throws his life into chaos. Overwhelmed by terrifying panic attacks, the author begins a search for equanimity that ultimately leads to an epiphany from a most unexpected source. The Man in the Empty Boat is a witty and touching account of a skeptic's spiritual quest, a story of one man's journey to find peace as a father, a writer, and an individual.