Clarion County author back home; new book reflects on experiences

David Drayer combines anecdotes of small town life and cross-country traveling in the short story collection "Wayward Son: Travels and Reflections." (Contributed photo)

Novelist David Drayer’s first nonfiction book chronicles his return to small-town life in western Pennsylvania after nearly three decades of living in major cities across the country.

Most recently, the Rimersburg native returned to the area from Washington, D.C., and now lives in Sligo.

David Drayer

“I came back because I decided to take a year to write the next book,” Drayer said. “I thought the best place to do that would be back here. My money goes further up here and my family’s up here.”

His newest book, “Wayward Son: Travels and Reflections” is a collection of blog posts and newspaper columns written during his time back in western Pennsylvania and while traveling around the country.

“I would take these weekend trips on my motorcycle and my co-workers liked my stories,” Drayer said. “I never planned it out. I just went and made it back in time to clock in on Monday morning.”

Throughout the book, the author mixes humorous anecdotes of working as an extra in Hollywood, washing dishes in the Hamptons and competing with a dog for a woman’s affections in D.C.

He also writes about hiking Rails-to-Trails, visiting long-lost relatives and pondering the mysteries of nicknames, superstitions, what matters in life and what doesn’t.

“I’ve done all kinds of different things,” Drayer said. “In terms of surviving as a writer, you have to get pretty creative sometimes.”

Drayer has worked as a corporate trainer, an English professor, a caterer and “pretty much whatever comes along.”

He described returning to his small-town roots after almost 30 years of living in major cities as a bit of culture shock.

“Sharing my motorcycle trips and especially writing the newspaper columns helped me to reconnect with the folks back home,” he said. “It made my day when someone stopped me in town to say one of my articles made them laugh out loud or inspired them to take a road trip or check something off of their bucket list.”

Route 33 Press called “Wayward Son” “inspiring, hilarious, thoughtful and wise,” and adds “These commentaries on what makes life worth living not only stimulate the mind, they encourage us to venture off the beaten path and enjoy the ride.”

Drayer is looking forward to a reading scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, at the Franklin library.

Launched at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, the book can be found at the Franklin Public Library and online at Amazon.

A sample chapter can be read at daviddrayer.com.