The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Lafleur - Softcover

In The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Lafleur, a revered artist looks back on the adventures and sufferings of his childhood with compassion, wisdom, and humor. As an 8-year-old, Shelton Lafleur runs away from his foster home in the New Orleans Garden District. While trying to find refuge in a towering oak tree in one of the city's parks, he falls. The catastrophic accident leaves both legs crippled, determining the course of his life. After years in a grim orphanage, Shelton runs away again in search of his roots. A street artist named Minou befriends him, and ultimately becomes his mentor and inspiration.

John Gregory Brown lives in Virginia and teaches creative writing at Sweet Briar College. He is the author of The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton LaFleur and Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, which received a Steinbeck Award and the Lillian Smith Award. Audubon's Watch was selected as the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Book of the Year.