Swapping academic journals for a debut novel
David Rosenbaum, a child of Holocaust survivors, retired from academia and went on to write The Remaking of Myles, a story about belonging and inherited trauma.
When David Rosenbaum retired from academia, it was clear that he still wanted to, and needed to, write.
“The bottom line is that I enjoy writing, and when I retired from academia I still wanted to write,” the author told The AJN. His golf game wasn’t up to scratch, he hates fishing, and there is only so long he can play with his grandchildren before they have had enough. “The last thing I wanted to do was drive my wife crazy.”
His first thought was an autobiography. After working with a book coach, he realised he was not a recognisable name and wondered who would read it. Fiction, he decided, would let his imagination “run wild while keeping reality as its foundation”. The result is his debut novel, The Remaking of Myles.
The book grows out of themes Rosenbaum has thought about for years, including the impact of intergenerational trauma on younger people, and the disconnect felt by those who come from other cultures and must come to grips with life in a new country.
He knows that second experience first-hand.
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