NORTHBROOK, Ill. (RNS) — For someone who was at death’s door a year ago, Brendan Slocumb is remarkably chipper.
A classical musician turned bestselling author at age 50, Slocumb is just a year out from a kidney transplant that saved his life. He credits the Christian faith he learned growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the love of friends with saving his life, making him grateful for every new day.
“I should not be here,” Slocumb said. “I am well aware of that.”
The past five years have been a whirlwind for Slocumb. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown brought his life as a music teacher and performing violinist to a halt, leaving him with no source of income and just enough money in the bank to pay his rent for six months. While sitting on the couch, eating Doritos, doomscrolling and feeling sorry for himself, Slocumb said he came across an article about how to get a book deal. He dug out an old sci-fi novel he’d written years earlier and sent it to an agent.
The response: “This book is terrible.”
But the agent liked Slocumb’s writing style and told him to keep at it. By the end of the year, he’d finished a new book, “The Violin Conspiracy.” Published in 2022, it made The New York Times bestseller list after being chosen as a Good Morning America Book Club pick.
Fans loved it, as did critics. They also loved his 2023 follow-up, “Symphony of Secrets.” But just as his career was taking off, his kidneys, which had been damaged by a life-threatening health crisis years earlier, failed. He faced the real possibility of dying.
Slocumb, living in Washington, D.C., said he felt so ill that he could barely crawl out of bed and often wanted to give up.
“I was down to 140 pounds,” he said in an Oct. 15 interview at a suburban Chicago library, where he was giving a talk. “I did not know if I was going to make it through this.”
His best friend from college, a fellow musician, donated a kidney, and last fall, Slocumb had the transplant surgery that saved his life.
“I would not be here were it not for my faith,” said Slocumb, who has the words “Thank You” tattooed on his arm.
Author Brendan Slocumb. Photo courtesy Slocumb
Dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and a baseball cap, the bearded Slocumb is back to good health, thanks to his doctors, his friends and, he believes, God. He said as a kid, he got up early every Sunday to go to the Presbyterian church his family attended. He hated it.
“My mom would wake us up at seven for an 11 o’clock service. And I’m like, this is ridiculous. I’m going back to sleep,” Slocumb said.
But he said he’s now glad for those early mornings in church, where he learned life has meaning and the importance of being a good person. He also learned how to pray, something that kept him going during dark times. The health crisis, he said, has also made him a better person. Before he became ill, he was more selfish. Now, he said, he tries to spend more time focused on other people.
“I was humbled,” he said.
Friends have called him lucky, but Slocumb prefers the word “blessed.” Though like many Americans, he no longer attends church services, he still prays several times daily and said his Christian faith gives his life meaning.
These days, Slocumb sees his mission in life as bringing joy to others. He also hopes, with his writing, to help Americans see past the stereotypes that divide them. During his talk at the Northbrook Public Library — his book, “Symphony of Secrets,” featured in the library’s annual community book club program — he recounted some of the challenges he faced as a Black violinist playing classical music.
Some conductors, he said, would look at the color of his skin and assume he was less talented than other musicians. Other times, when arriving at rehearsal, he was mistaken for a janitor.
“I’ve gone into places and been completely overlooked and ignored just because of what I look like,” he said. “But then the treatment gets a lot different when they find out who you actually are.”
Author Brendan Slocumb’s book “The Violin Conspiracy.” Cover courtesy Slocumb
Slocumb told the audience that he, too, has judged others in the past. That’s one reason why he tries to make his characters complex — like a talented Black composer who is neurodivergent in “Symphony of Secrets,” or the father figure in his latest book, “The Dark Maestro,” a former gang member trying to escape his past.
Like most of the people he meets, Slocumb said the characters in his books are more than they appear. He said that many people, if they saw him walking down the street most days, might not believe he was a successful musician or bestselling author, and that’s unfortunate.
“I want people to see people,” he said. “Forget the accent, forget the haircut, forget the attire. Forget the ZIP code, forget the bank account — really see people.”
Though he acknowledged his country has troubles, Slocumb said he is hopeful about the future. During his talk about “Symphony of Secrets,” which tells the story of a struggling Black composer in the 1920s whose music was stolen by a famed white musician, he pointed out that America has changed since then.
While the country has a long way to go to live up to its ideals, he believes America will get there in the future.
“I can only speak for myself when I say that we have come such a long way in this country,” he said. “Are we perfect? Absolutely not. Have we come a long way? 100%.”
