Fire in the Straw

Publisher, professor, mentor, father, husband, writer, Nick Lyons begins his story when his mother drops him off at boarding school at the tender age of five. Little Nicki finds solace in what moves beneath the surface of water. This abiding fascination is a lifeline for him as he stumbles his way through school, through his service in the Army, through the cold disapproving glare of the conman who is his stepfather. Disgusted by his own business degree from University of Pennsylvania (where he snagged a spot on the basketball team despite topping out at 5'9"), Nick flounders after the Army (where he first fell in love with art and Hemingway), refusing to go into the family insurance business. Words beckon him. The world of literature first laps at his toes then consumes him in a flood and Nick plunges with whole mind and heart into his own literary education, first at Bard, where he falls in love with Mari, a cattle rancher's daughter.

Soon, armed with a PhD in literature from University of Michigan, with a wife and four children to support, he embarks on his adult life, juggling family, teaching, writing, fishing, and publishing with the wolf always at his door. Against all odds, the little publishing house that bears his name thrives. His children prosper, his wife's art flourishes, and his writing makes him a household name within the fly-fishing community. With scathing honesty as well as a brilliant, warm humor, Nick Lyons skillfully paints a portrait of a complex life examined. Fire in the Straw is a love story, a confessional, and a beautiful big-hearted memoir of a hard-won life well lived.