A Marshland of His Own is author Gavin Zastrow's first-time experience with death. Twenty-six years ago, Gavin's friend committed suicide. One year later, he decided at the urging of his friends, family, and teachers to turn that experience from a short story into a book.
This book was written from the point of view of a high school student. Outside of grammatical changes and minor edits, all the thoughts and events hold true to that high school voice.
A Marshland of His Own is divided into three parts: mourning, mending, and moving on, which follows the grief process Gavin went through and how, through that process, he learned to heal and move on with his life. This event marked the turning point between the end of the naivety of childhood and the beginning of the complexities of adulthood.