I digress...
I read this book in memory of my dad. The author was a classmate of his and I have met Mr. Cook on several occasions. I still remember that Mr. Cook had a book signing in Albuquerque while my dad was out hunting. My Aunt Dee took me to the store to have a book signed for my dad as a birthday present. That was in 1990 and I am now the owner of that book. Just opening the book to that inscription brought back sweet memories. While there were parts that I didn't laugh at I remembered my dad laughing with tears running down his face, especially in the telling of the funeral story (it is pretty humorous). However, there were other stories I was totally laughing and rereading to my husband.
The best way to describe this book would be as the roughed up, sometimes crass, but has a soft side uncle of "The Help." This was a more vivid look into life in a north Louisiana town in the 1940's. While some things were tragic and heart breaking, I know from stories of my dad's youth they are not far from the truth.
I have heard that Mr. Cook has a second book out and possibly a third in the works. I will have to work my north Louisiana connections to find out as I cannot seem to find a second one listed online.
Reading this book made me think of stories of my dad's family and how I want to make sure that they are passed down to my girls. I'll share them here when I have more time. For now, I'll put a reminder to write about them soon.
On to more books...