In his 2011 memoir "Townie," local author Andre Dubus III wrote that if he hadn't started writing, he might have ended up in prison. In his most recent fictional book, "Gone So Long," he tackles the themes of violence and reckoning with the past. The book's main character, Danny Ahearn, is released from prison and seeks to reunite with his daughter, who hasn't seen him since he murdered her mother 40 years ago. The tale wrestles with the question of whether redemption can be earned after an unspeakable crime — and whether his daughter can truly heal from the trauma of having witnessed it.
Jim Braude was joined by Dubus, who is also a professor at UMass Lowell, ahead of his appearance with Oprah on Thursday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
