This beautifully written family story - maintains a level of tenderness in spite of alcoholism, violence, and abuse. In the end, "the boy" makes it through scarred but makes it. Descriptions of farm life and family dynamics remind me of Falkner. If there's a lesson, family counts, even bad families, and hard work pays off. ( )

This is a wonderful story which continued to surprise me right to the ending. "The boys" time at the farm with "the ladies" was magical and I was mesmerized. It is a somewhat complicated story which never is confusing. Peck is a wonderful writer and this is my second favorite memoir that I've read this year (Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums is first). At the beginning it did seem as though the writer was inserting metaphors in every other sentence and was an annoyance for just the first few pages. Some of the metaphors were very good but it seemed a bit gratuitous and forced. ( )