I couldn’t put this book down and read it cover to cover in one sitting. I noticed that several reviewers questioned whether it really was a true story, but coming from a dysfunctional family myself, it had the ring of truth to me. It gave what I thought was a perfect description of a belligerent alcoholic husband, with a depressed wife who found her selfish husband exciting. I’ve known several intelligent college-educated homeless people, and they are not too different from the parents in this story. Amazingly, children from dysfunctional families such as this sometimes come out a lot better than you might think. The key seems to be whether they felt loved by their parents, even if they had to take charge at an early age, and put up with considerable embarrassment.

This book was recommended reading for a literary class my wife is taking, and she loaned it to me, knowing I would appreciate it. I’m going to recommend it to all my friends.