What do you do when you feel aged out of your own life?
Dive into Craig Amundsen’s poignant journey through a changing world in Lewis DeSimone’s latest novel, Exit Wounds. Against the backdrop of a transforming San Francisco, Craig, navigating his 50s, finds himself adrift in a city evolving from a gay haven into a landscape of tech elites and soaring real estate prices.
Struggling with a recent breakup and the looming threat of losing his job, Craig finds solace in an unexpected place: jury duty. What begins as a mere distraction unfolds into a profound exploration of his beliefs and perceptions. The trial challenges Craig’s understanding of his surroundings, leading him on a path to embracing life’s inevitable changes—and perhaps even finding love along the way.
Exit Wounds tackles the complexities of growing older in a society that celebrates youth, blending wit, insight, and a hint of romance. Lewis DeSimone draws from his deep connection to San Francisco to craft a narrative that resonates with authenticity and heart.
Lewis DeSimone is the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Chemistry, The Heart’s History, and Channeling Morgan. A longtime resident of San Francisco, he currently resides in Minneapolis.
Praise for Exit Wounds
“Funny, surprising, thoughtful and sad, DeSimone’s Exit Wounds is his love letter to San Francisco and a long overdue paean to the sustaining nature of gay male friendships. Craig’s story could be any one of our stories, and his experience as a juror illuminates our often bizarre justice system.”
—Felice Picano, author of Ambidextrous: The Secret Lives of Children
“With considerable wit and wisdom, Lewis DeSimone joins the ranks of Stephen McCauley, Andrew Holleran, Michael Cunningham, and Patrick Gale in vividly bringing to life gay characters coping with middle age in all its effronteries and affordances. Exit Wounds focuses on a tight-knit group of older gay friends in San Francisco who face change on every front: from aging bodies and waning desires to an assimilated younger gay generation (“even fags are straight now”) and a transforming cityscape where independent bookstores, like the one run by the narrator, don’t stand a chance. What survives is the love that binds these friends to each other and to a city that, despite its sometimes alienating transformations, remains alive, beckoning, fabulous: in a word, home. Writing with heart-felt sentiment but without sentimentality, DeSimone has crafted a glowing anthem to a place and to the possibilities of personal transformation amid inevitable change.“
—Joseph Allen Boone, author of Furnace Creek and Conditions of Precarity
“With Exit Wounds, Lewis DeSimone captures the shifting cultural landscape of contemporary San Francisco, generational rifts between gay men, the occasional cocktail-sipping barb that hits too close to home, and even the inherent racism of the criminal justice system, all with a deft and delicate hand.”
—Jim Provenzano, author of Finding Tulsa and other novels
“I can spot a love letter when I see one, and Lewis DeSimone’s latest novel, Exit Wounds, in addition to being a gentle rumination about aging gracefully in a graceless society, is just such a missive. … [DeSimone’s] banter is always light and entertaining, and his characterizations are sharp and well-defined. Ultimately, though, Exit Wounds is DeSimone’s clear-eyed farewell letter to a city taking unsure steps toward the future. And if the street names and landmarks mean little to you, substitute them with ones from where you live, because America is becoming bigboxed into a homogenous franchise from sea to shining sea. DeSimone’s regret at this is as keen as it is well-expressed. Highly recommended!“
—Jerry L. Wheeler, Out in Print: Queer Book Reviews
“Without resorting to rose-colored glasses, Exit Wounds unabashedly sings the praises of San Francisco. … [a] story of enduring friendships in a fast-changing city.“
—Claude Peck, Gay & Lesbian Review
“With just the right combination of realistic dialogue, barbed criticisms, dark humor, and engrossing plot and narration, DeSimone has, as he has with his former books, hit the sweet spot in this immersive tale of aging gay men, the pains and pleasures of jury duty, and the myriad ways in which queers coexist, attempt to stay sane, retain happiness, and, against a barrage of barriers, thrive. This is a seamless, impressively written love letter to San Francisco and the vibrant, colorful tapestry of communities which make it tick.”
—Jim Piechota, Bay Area Reporter
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