Category: memoir

Author: Aaron Cooper
Publisher: Late August Press
Genre: Memoir / Autobiography
ISBN: 978-0-9797926-1-8
Pages: 297
Price: $14.00

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A couple gives a lot of thought to adopting a child, and this decision is not made lightly. It’s even more difficult when the child involved is not a baby, and when the couple is two men in a committed gay relationship. So when Aaron Cooper and his partner, Eric, adopt five year-old Jon, they expect problems.

Jon is a handful from the beginning, having lived his first years in a home with no rules, so establishing order becomes the first priority. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to keep Jon from misbehaving, they finally realize they need to seek professional help for his ADHD.

In addition to dealing with his son’s behavior, the author must try to accept his family’s reaction to his coming out as a gay man and their refusal to accept his partner and son as part of the family. Aaron and Eric provide for all of Jon’s needs, despite the pain and anguish he causes them at times, making the commitment to their son in the same way they have committed to each other.

This memoir chronicles the story of how Jon joined the family, and takes us through his growing up years into young adulthood. The author shares it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly – as he reveals how difficult, but also how rewarding, it was to raise his son. A story of parenting, prejudice, and pain, but also of renewal and reconciliation, Bring Him Home is about real life, and ultimately about real love.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Author: Mary Lynn Archibald
Publisher: Cloud Lake Publishing
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 978-0-9787054-0-4
Pages: 228
Price: $19.95

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Have you ever thought life would be simpler if you just chucked your 9-to-5 job and bought a few acres in the country? Whether the thought is fleeting or you’re in the midst of a full-blown mid-life crisis, you have to read this book first, before you do anything you might regret.

Carl and Mary Lynn bought Twin Creeks Ranch with the idea of puttering around the farm and relaxing as they approached their golden years. But what they didn’t anticipate was just how much work they had unwittingly signed on for. Oh, and of course, the cows. They had bought a ranch.

Accidental Cowgirl shares the good, the bad, and the ugly times from their twelve years as ranch owners. Mary Lynn Archibald writes with humor as she shares the many trials they faced, battling the leaky roof and the endless plumbing problems.

She also shares the warmth and community of living on the side of a mountain with others who are managing to survive in sometimes harsh conditions. You can feel the love she and Carl have for their land, the cows, and the lifestyle they wholeheartedly embraced.

In the time they owned Twin Creeks Ranch, they discovered hidden reservoirs of talent and a strong will to overcome anything life handed them. The author shares her fears of living alone at the ranch, the excitement of new life when calves are born, and the sadness of death. And ultimately, she shares the pain of finally letting go.

Rarely do I find a book so enjoyable that I savor it in small nibbles, like fine chocolate. Accidental Cowgirl is such a book. Mary Lynn Archibald brings this mountain alive, and by the time you finish reading her incredible story, you’ll find you’re reluctant to ever leave Twin Creeks Ranch.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Author: Darrell Bain
Genre: Biography/Humor
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
ISBN: 1-931201-19-6
Pages: 177
Price: $15.50

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Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus Lane. And for Darrell Bain, life at home is filled with more funny and unusual experiences than a stocking is filled with goodies on Christmas morning.

Life on Santa Claus Lane is a collection of amusing stories detailing Bain’s life on a Christmas tree farm in East Texas along with his spouse, dog, and two cats. You certainly won’t be disappointed with Bain’s down-home, tongue-in-cheek style and quirky perceptions of life.(Per evidence of his definition of the actual use of a tape measure: “There is no actual use for this tool because it mysteriously disappears whenever anything needs measuring.”) But don’t look for any talk about sex, because that topic is emphatically off limits.Just ask Darrell’s wife. The exploits of their dog, Biscuit, however, is fair game.

Through it all Bain spins a sequence of tales that provide smirks of familiarity, chuckles of amusement, or downright, out-loud laughter. Wait till you read the slightly exaggerated “The Great Closet Expedition” or learn of his ironclad memory in “A Simple Errand.”Even putting up a garden tent, as in “Trade Fair Follies,” can be quite an adventure where Bain is concerned.

Whatever happens on Santa Claus Lane, you can be sure Darrel Bain will tell us about it in a fun and entertaining fashion. This book is a great read, and I highly recommend it!

Reviewer: Gene Berger