Home | David B. Seaburn

Last Alive

When Leon Wilkenson’s wife, Emma, left for the bridal shower, how could he have known that she would never come back.

Last Alive

takes an open-eyed look at the impact of sudden loss on the lives of six people. It is a story about ordinary people facing the extraordinary dilemmas that often define our lives. These characters range in age from eleven to seventy. Their individual struggles and stories crisscross each other to create a tightly woven look at loss, grief, hope, and healing.

Coming in November 2026.

About the Author

David B. Seaburn's

most recent novel is

Until It Was Gone

. His newest novel,

Last Alive

, will be released November 2026.

David's first publication was a series of poems when he was in seminary at Boston University (1972-75). He continued writing while serving a church for six years, mostly short stories, plays, songs, essays and two manuscripts of inspirational prose.

He entered the field of marriage and family therapy in 1986 and was Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center where he did extensive academic writing. During this period, he co-authored two professional books and wrote over 60 papers and book chapters.

"Grief takes many forms in David B. Seaburn’s heartrending novel of interconnected lives, Last Alive. Although the story follows a large cast, their personalities are distinct, and Seaburn keeps the shifts between them clear, so the multiple perspectives never blur together. And for readers going through loss or family difficulty, the novel offers real comfort in the realistic way each character finds to cope. Written with a warm and kind tone, Last Alive is a moving, unflinching novel that faces loss squarely and never loses hope."

Dawn Hart

Indies Today

…seasoned author David B. Seaburn brings us his version of small-town life in his latest novel, Last Alive…Seaburn’s writing is accessible, a narrative where the reader feels completely connected to each character, no matter which character’s viewpoint takes the lead. I highly recommend adding Last Alive to your reading list. Once you invite these characters into your life, you will continue to care about them even as you move on to the next story.

Kathleen M. Rodgers ~ 2026 WILLA Literary Award Winner in Contemporary fiction for The Llano County Mermaid Club

Until It Was Gone

When Laney announces to Franklin at their fortieth wedding anniversary dinner that she is leaving him, the lives of every member of the family are changed. Through conflict, covid, mass shooting, abortion, and more, this family will find forgiveness, resilience, and hope.

Laney leaves for the Oklahoma panhandle in search of Roz, their estranged daughter, who left home at sixteen, and the nineteen-year-old granddaughter, Maggie, Laney has never met.

Shortly after she leaves, Franklin contracts Covid which morphs into the long-haul form. His episodes of fogginess and disorientation awaken memories of abuse at the hands of his father.

Gretchen, his sister, comes to take care of him. Four years earlier her husband was killed in a mass shooting in her small town. Soon she will return home to give her victim impact statement at the murderer’s sentencing.

Maggie, the granddaughter, becomes pregnant and due to medical complications needs an abortion, but she lives in a state where it is outlawed. What will she do? Where will she go? Will the family find the resilience to come together for everyone’s sake?

Last Alive

About the Author

MEDIA

Early Praise for LAST ALIVE:

Until It Was Gone

AWARDS

Until It Was Gone

Give Me Shelter

Broken Pieces of God

Gavin Goode

Parrot Talk

Charlie No Face