Young Lucas grew up as a gar fisherman’s son, in the steamy backwater bayous of southeastern Louisiana. His story invites you into a brutal world that is dominated by domestic violence, poverty, and the day-to-day struggle for survival … a struggle that might have left even the strongest of us emotionally scarred and bitter.

As you begin reading The Gar Diaries, be aware: the language is vivid, the emotions are intense, and the honesty is often disturbing. This book will truly reshape your perception of life in the Deep South – and might very well haunt your mind for years to come.

“Every once in a while a book comes along that captures the universal truths which we all suspect exist but cannot verify until we read them on the printed page. The Gar Diaries is just such a book; full of breathtaking highs and lows, penetrating insight, wicked humor, and those universal truths which we covet. The verdict is in: this is the non-fiction debut of a major American writer, a book that will be discussed for years to come.”  J.E. Pitts, Oxford American

“Poetic and brutal, The Gar Diaries offers a prism-portrait of one life lived in the world between gritty New Orleans and the swamps of Southeastern Louisiana. Louis Bourgeois’s 1970s, 80s, and 90s can quite truthfully be described as unforgettable, exploring the nature of origins, the permanence of family and place, and the madness of life we all–though rarely so boldly–must confront. Refreshingly, Bourgeois reveals a Louisiana far removed from the popular “Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler” concept.” Billy Fontenot, The Louisiana Review

In 1996 , Louis Bourgeois graduated from Louisiana State University with a BA in English. In 2002 he was the first graduate of The University of Mississippi’s MFA program in creative writing. He is co-founder and editor of VOX, an independent experimental literary journal based in Oxford, Mississippi.