A queer coming-of-age story about a young man’s journey from Canada to Serbia in search of his roots, about the power of truth and lies, and about the persistence of hope when there’s nothing else left.

Garrett is orphaned and stuck in a one-traffic-light prairie oil town. He yearns for a family to belong to and sets out to find his last known living relative, his grandfather, the Serbian author Milos Milic. Armed with nothing but his wit and resourcefulness, Garrett starts his trek, from his hometown on the Canadian plains, across continents and countries, in search of acceptance and family, which he finds, but in the most unexpected people.

We Are All of Us Left Behind is a queer coming-of-age story about the powers of truth and lies, of what a family really is, and the persistence of hope when there's nothing else left. Told in compelling, spare prose, We Are All of Us Left Behind is written in the spirit of The Beach meets The Goldfinch.

Bradley Somer has written a ton of short fiction, which has appeared in a plethora of literary journals, reviews and anthologies over the past thirteen years. His stories show a bent for the off-kilter with a touch of the urban fantastic.
Bradley's debut novel, Imperfections, was published in Fall 2012 by Nightwood Editions. It earned a starred review from Quill & Quire magazine, won the 2013 CBC Bookie Award for debut author of the year and was one of the Canadian Bookseller's Top 8 Picks for 2012.
His next novel, Fishbowl, will be published in North America in August 2015 through St. Martin's Press. Publication rights have sold in eighteen countries and the book also will be available in many translations.

Bradley Somer's profile page

Praise for Bradley Somer

“Somer tackles loneliness, life, love and death with wit and sensitivity …” — Globe and Mail

“Enjoyable touches of farce and wry asides abound, underscoring moments of reckoning in eccentric, yet deeply human, dilemmas.” — Publishers Weekly

“… a marvellous portrayal of the tentative — and often funny — ways human beings muddle about trying to connect with one another.” — Toronto Star