Andre Dubus III grew up in poverty in a decaying New England mill town. His parents were divorced when Dubus was young. His family struggled to get by. In "Townie," the author's first memoir, we learn how he was bullied until he decided to fight back. Dubus became a fighter before he ever thought of becoming a writer.In this interview the author looks back at the obstacles that he surmounted and at his complicated relationship with his late father, the writer, Andre Dubus II. The author's cousin, the novelist James Lee Burke, has said that Dubus "may be the best writer in America." Dubus ignores the accolades. He doesn't read the reviews. He just writes.