Synopsis
What happens when memory won't let go, your body betrays you, and your dogs understand you better than most humans? You write. You rage. You laugh. You love. You drive on empty.
With raw honesty, dry wit, and an eye for the sacred in the mundane, Bruce Jackson turns everyday living into a lyrical journey through aging, regret, resilience, and unexpected joy. Driving on Empty is a collection of unfiltered reflections-poetry that sounds like conversation, prayers disguised as jokes, and diary entries from a man still figuring things out.
Whether he's mourning an old dog, confronting the ache of old wounds, or savoring the perfect bowl of cereal with his four-legged breakfast committee, Jackson reminds us that life doesn't have to be tidy to be beautiful. It just has to be real.
This is a book for anyone who's ever felt lost in their own story... and decided to keep writing anyway. Heartfelt, gritty, and profoundly human, Driving on Empty is a love letter to survival-one awkward, hilarious, holy moment at a time.
About the Author
Before his retirement in 2016, Bruce Jackson had a multifaceted career as a college teacher of music and humanities, a college administrator, a performing musician, and a servant in Christian churches. He earned a Doctor of Arts in Music Theory and Composition from Ball State University and was ABD (All but Dissertation) on a Doctor of Music Ministry from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also earned a Master of Music in Music Composition from the University of Arkansas, a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Bass Guitar from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Missouri.He taught college-level courses in music theory, ear training, composition, improvisation, jazz ensembles, double bass, bass guitar, class guitar, violoncello, and music appreciation. He also led an interdisciplinary humanities course exploring the European and Harlem Renaissances.Bruce's contributions to his field are reflected in his record of publication. His doctoral dissertation studied the g-d-G-C Scordatura Tuning of the Double Bass and his master's thesis was a modern oratorio based on the Book of Job. Alongside Bruce Benward and Barbara Garvey Jackson, he co-authored Practical Beginning Theory, 8th edition, published by McGraw-Hill, College Division. In 2022, he published a novel titled Thom Jons - A Novel of One Who Rejected Life and Demanded Death. Since completing his master's degree, he has self-published fifteen volumes of poetry, essays, religious reflections, and worship services. He has composed over 250 musical compositions and arrangements, recorded many jazz CDs, and compiled an extensive discography of studio recordings and live performances dating back to 1983.Since 1969, Bruce has performed in a wide variety of musical settings and styles, including jazz, classical, orchestral, blues, rock and roll, country, and pop. His performances have taken place in music theaters, small lounges, academic halls, festival stages, and numerous churches. He has collaborated with both amateur and professional musicians. Along with his keyboardist son, his recent bands include Jazz Toaster, The Alt Jackson & Smith Keyboard Quartet, and The Violoncellulites.In 2012, Exis Jaxn performed his jazz musical Thom Jons Considers the Proposition That Everyone Goes to Heaven, presented as a reading performance with a freshman group at Moberly Area Community College. Though the musical and the novel share the same basic storyline, they are otherwise quite distinct. He currently serves as the church bass guitarist for an African-American Full Gospel congregation, using the g-d-G-C scordatura tuning.Bruce has been married for nearly 40 years. He has three grown sons and eight grandchildren. His favorite dog is a beagle named Diva Daisy Doodoledo, who appears as the lead dog vocalist on various projects. A native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, he now resides in Columbia, Missouri, in a racially and culturally mixed neighborhood bordered by a major interstate, large apartment complexes, and a colony of halfway houses for parolees. Driving on Empty is his 15th volume that was composed between October 10 and December 23, 2024.
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