The Ride of Our Lives: Roadside Lessons of an American Family, by Mike Leonard
Earnest saves his family. Continue reading The Ride of Our Lives: Roadside Lessons of an American Family, by Mike Leonard
Tag: family
CCLaP Fridays: Make It Stay, by Joan Frank
Today’s book review at CCLaP: “Make It Stay” by Joan Frank, which I calls my favorite read so far of the year. The novel explores the lives of two couples in a small Northern California town as they encounter births, deaths, joys, and frustrations. I assert, “Frank’s highly polished literary prose is definitely worth your time.” Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Make It Stay, by Joan Frank
Drive Me Out of My Mind, by Chad Faries
These days memoirs are a dime a dozen, glutting the market with tales of the self-absorbed. Fortunately, Chad Faries stands out in this crowded field with his unique tale of childhood in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Drive Me Out of My Mind: 24 Houses in 10 Years, a Memoir, follows Chad’s childhood from roughly 1971 to 1980. Chad’s singularly strange upbringing and poetic sensibility create a memoir unlike any other. Most memoirs focus on bourgeois nuclear families and the travails of growing up middle-class in the suburbs. In childhood, Chad discerned the differences of his family and “families on TV.” Chad’s … Continue reading Drive Me Out of My Mind, by Chad Faries
Dead Center by Joanna Higgins
Joanna Higgins crafts a novel that extends beyond the normal genre boundaries of the murder mystery and courtroom drama. Dead Center revolves around the Weber family. Dr. Benjamin Weber is a beloved pediatrician with a practice in Hawaii. He lives with his wife Karen. Prior to marrying Ben, Karen had two daughters, Laura and Lin, from a previous marriage. Ben and Karen also have a daughter of their own, Katherine. Ben Weber married Karen following the death of her husband, Peter Hyland. Ben was present when Peter died in Tunley, Michigan. Was it an accident? Was it murder? Now, twenty … Continue reading Dead Center by Joanna Higgins
The Driftless Area Review 