Illinois Authors

Strategic Book Publishing, New York : ©2009.

Little Big Man Publishing, [United States?] : 2012.

In ten short stories, the author explores how we learn to carry on after kicking habits, shedding obsessions, or losing what we believe we can't live without.

"A middle-aged father takes the reader on a five-thousand-mile road trip, the one he always wished he'd taken as a young man. Recently divorced and uncertain of the future, he rereads ... Jack Kerouac's On the Road and along with his two sons and his best friend heads for the highway to rekindle his spirit. However, a family secret turns the cross-country journeyu into an unexpected examination of his role as a father, and compels him to look to the past and the fathers who came before him to find contentment and clarity, and celebrate the struggles and triumps of being a dad"--Publisher's description.

"In the vinyl era, David Berner played rock'n'roll in a neighbourhood garage band. Decades later at the age of 57 he enters a national songwriting contest and quite unexpectedly is named a finalist. But there's more. He's also called on to perform the song live in a storied venue for Americana music. So, he grabs his old guitar and the love of his life, and hits the road, hoping to live out a musical fantasy he thought had been buried a long time ago."--Back cover.

"This book is a work of memoir. It reflects personal experience over time. Although the book is based on actual events, some scenes have been constructed through the process of memory and through stories told to me over the years by my mother, father, and reliable family members and friends. Some names and characteristics have been altered to respect the privacy of those living and deceased. Some events have been compressed, some chronology shifted, and some dialogue recreated to reflect, at best one possibly can, the true spirit of long-ago experiences. In all, however, I have done my best to offer as true a story as memory will allow."--Page [4].

"A man, his dog, and a long walk can lead to unexpected discoveries. In the tradition of many literary walkers, David W. Berners sets out on foot hoping to reexamine a life, look back and forward, and most importantly--through the help of his young dog, Sam--try to find harmony in new beginnings and the uncertainties of the present. In a series of chapters, each dedicated to one walk during a summer of hiking, the author finds that it is his beloved pet that allows him to awaken to a new spirit of mindfulness, finding beauty, wonder, and comfort in the ordinary, and to see a life, a neighborhood, and even a country with brand new eyes."