UNC grad David Payne honors brother in memoir 'Avalon'

David Payne and his younger brother, George, had a tradition.

As competitive brothers, they used to run a four-mile race in Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks. Growing up in Henderson, N.C., almost a three-hour drive to the beach, they knew to make the most of their time there.

The brothers grew up and grew apart. Payne attended and then graduated from UNC with a major in English.

Then, 15 years ago, author David Payne witnessed something that would change his life forever: While George was helping David move to back to their home state of North Carolina — an attempt for reconnection — David watched in his rearview mirror as George lost control of his vehicle on the highway. The car flipped, and he died almost immediately.

Payne, who has made a name for himself as a fiction novelist, has written a memoir about his experience with the accident, his relationship with his brother and the impact George’s death has had on him.

Payne said he had a writing professor in the 1970s who gave out a prompt that asked students to write a letter that says what they most needed to say to the person they most needed to say it to — but he said never could.

“Barefoot to Avalon” is Payne’s letter.

“(It’s) a letter to my brother, my family, my children and to readers,” he said. “It has to do with that and my relationship with my brother.”

As part of his book tour, Payne will be reading at Flyleaf Books tonight.

“The book has been getting really amazing reviews from all these different places,” said Travis Smith, the marketing coordinator at Flyleaf. “I think it’s going to be a big event.”

The bookstores Payne has already spoken at have had a great turnout, including his Aug. 4 event sponsored by Purple Crow Books in Hillsborough, where Payne now lives.

“There was a huge turnout for the book launch,” Sharon Wheeler, owner of Purple Crow Books, said in an email.

“The reading was powerful. There was complete silence. People were crying and sitting on the edge of their seats.”

On his tour, Payne has been reading the chapter where his brother died. Though it has gotten easier to get through over time, Payne said it is still difficult.

“The first time I did it, I wasn’t able to talk for about 60 seconds,” he said.

“I asked some of the booksellers if it was too much and too sad for the audience, and they said though it’s sad and painful, it’s kind of like a gift.”

The audience feedback, according to Payne and Wheeler, reflected that. Payne said several people have come up to him after a reading and said through telling his story, they were able to connect their own experiences.

“People come up to me with tears in their eyes,” Payne said. “You don’t get that kind of response in fiction — it’s a different animal entirely.”

The title of “Barefoot to Avalon” refers to the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills, where they would run — a nod to the tradition the brothers started years ago.

Readers also find a nod in the cover — a picture of George smiling because he had just beaten David in their race for the first time.

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