Dr. Francis Fesmire
Dr. Francis Fesmire works as an emergency physician and professor at Erlanger Hospital and has also become noted for his clinical research of the heart.
But the 1978 Baylor School valedictorian and Harvard University graduate has more recently been examining the emotional aspects of the heart through the writing of his first novel, Nashville Skyline.
The autobiographically inspired book, which he recently self-published through Lulu.com in printed and online digital versions, deals basically with a young emergency room doctor trying to come to terms with the suicide of his father, with his religious faith and with his relationship with a female love interest.
Because of the nature of the book and its somewhat upbeat ending after the protagonist is older, Dr. Fesmire will likely find himself again in the role of healer, but to readers instead of patients.
“This novel is meant to help people,” he said. “After my father (Francis M. Fesmire Sr.) committed suicide (in 1977), I was really in despair. I felt myself abandoned by my father, by God.
“I want to let people going through a mid-life crisis know there are second chances in life.”
Dr. Fesmire said he had actually written much of the book in the late 1980s shortly after going through a painful divorce from his first wife.
The third-generation physician had wanted to practice medicine since he was five-years-old, but came to a love of the written word through the Southern literature classes he took at Baylor under Bill Cushman and Jim Stover and after being taught to dissect a novel by fellow teacher Carter “Buck” Paden, now an Episcopal priest at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga.
Dr. Fesmire’s interest in literature and later writing continued at Harvard, where he read some existentialist authors and studied under Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Coles. And he later met author Walker Percy through the writer’s cardiologist nephew.
After Dr. Fesmire had written his book, he was unable to find a publisher. So, he put the book in a safe, where it sat for nearly two decades.
Approximately two years ago, he ran into an old acquaintance, who asked Dr. Fesmire about his writing. That started Dr. Fesmire thinking, so he pulled out his old manuscript and began reading over it again.
“I said, ‘Wow, that is good,’ “ Dr. Fesmire said.
With enthusiasm, he began reworking the book and adding new sections.
Told through a male-focused perspective, the book intersperses contrasting scenes of the main character, Gabe Rutherford, going through the hectic life of an emergency room physician while on off weeks enjoying the peace and tranquility of his houseboat with his girlfriend, Sis, before their breakup.
Visions and dreams of Civil War battles and seeing his father are also interspersed throughout the book, in which the past, present and future all seem to come together at times.
The book is set mostly in Nashville, where Dr. Fesmire attended Vanderbilt Medical School after spending his younger years in nearby Murfreesboro.
Dr. Fesmire also includes a number of metaphors, similes and other symbolisms, which would no doubt make his Baylor English teachers proud. For example, he refers to obesity as a monument to technology.
The book also features a clever ending that ties much of the storyline together while also keeping the reader hanging and wondering.
The novel also deals with the protagonist’s search for religious truth, which is also an autobiographical inspiration.
In fact, just as Dr. Fesmire’s manuscript sat dormant for years and was revised, so was his view toward God. Honestly admitting he felt atheistic and agnostic tendencies in his younger years, he said that rewriting the book helped him rediscover God.
“It’s actually a Christian novel,” Dr. Fesmire said. “A lot of Christians who are very conservative will be turned off by the novel, but people who are truly searching for the meaning of life will be inspired.”
While a praised novel often has a good conclusion, Dr. Fesmire’s real-life experiences with the book did not come to a completely happy ending, as he was still not able to find a publishing agent.
As one who has never had problems getting medical papers published, he found that frustrating.
However, he eventually decided to go the self-publishing route and hopes a traditional publisher will pick up the book down the road. He is also enthusiastically planning a second novel, Memphis Blues, when his demanding medical practice will allow time.
What is for sure, though, is that he is going to take a few moments to enjoy his first novel.
“I can truly say that I am proud of the final product,” he said.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net