Peter Golden
More than thirty-five
years ago, Gordon Meyers, an aspiring writer with a low number in the
draft lottery, packed his belongings and reluctantly drove away, leaving
behind Glenna Rising, the sexy, sharp-witted med student he couldn’t
imagine living without.
Now, decades later, Gordon is a former globe-trotting consultant with a grown son, an ex-wife, and an overwhelming desire to see Glenna again. Though she’s stunned when Gordon walks into her Manhattan office, Glenna agrees to accompany him for a drink. As the two head out into the snow-swept city, they rediscover the passion that once drew them together—before it tore them apart. And as the evening unfolds, Gordon will finally reveal the true reason for his return. . . .
Now, decades later, Gordon is a former globe-trotting consultant with a grown son, an ex-wife, and an overwhelming desire to see Glenna again. Though she’s stunned when Gordon walks into her Manhattan office, Glenna agrees to accompany him for a drink. As the two head out into the snow-swept city, they rediscover the passion that once drew them together—before it tore them apart. And as the evening unfolds, Gordon will finally reveal the true reason for his return. . . .
Ideas have a funny way of showing up.
In the case of Comeback Love, it
wasn’t so much inspiration descending on me, but rather I got to the point in
my life where I wanted to explore the years that had shaped both my wife and
me, and how that era continued to play a part in our marriage.
At the time, I was working on a history
of the Cold War. I had recently completed an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev,
and I was reading over the manuscript and saw the words “Soviet Union” and
“USSR,” terms that by 2005 had about as much reality as the Land of Oz. So I
wondered then what was the most profound change in the United States after the
Second World War? And my answer was: the changing status and roles of women.
So I began to write the story of Gordon
Meyers, a 50-something year-old man who tracks down Glenna Rising, a woman he
loved and lost during the 1960s, when he was an aspiring writer and she was in
medical school. The novel began to shift between past and present, a tact I
took so I could show the difference between then and now. I also knew that the
reader would want to know why Gordon really came back to see Glenna and how
things would play out at the end.
The process
was simple—not easy, simple. I sat in a chair between eight and ten hours a day
for six months and then the novel was done. It took me three months to rewrite
it, but I had sold it by then, and I was thrilled to be doing the work.
My goal was modest. I believe that writing,
at its best, informs us or moves us or both. It gives us a wider view of the
world, makes us more compassionate and lets us know that we are not alone.
That’s all I wanted to do, and I hope it’s enough for readers.
Books:
O Powerful Western Star
Quiet Diplomat
I Rest My Case
I Rest My Case
Comeback Love
Peter Golden is an award-winning journalist and the author of six full-length works of non-fiction and
fiction.
Some of his work has appeared in the Detroit Free Press Magazine, Albany Times Union, New Jersey
Monthly, Microsoft’s eDirections, Beyond Computing, Electronic Business, Midstream, The Forward and
Capital Region Magazine.
His debut novel Comeback Love (Atria Books, April 2012) tells the story of a man and his romantic
quest to find the women he loved and lost years before in the 1960s.
Golden grew up in South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey, and lives today outside Albany, New
York with his wife and son.
