The Distancers

Anyone writing a memoir or thinking of doing so should read this book. Not that all memoirs should be written in the sterling storytelling way that Lee Sandlin writes, but maybe more writers would consider going more in that direction. That would hopefully reduce the number of memoirs being publishe......more

All families have stories to tell. This book proves that the family does not have to be famous or infamous to be interesting. This is a story of ordinary people trying to get through life as best they can. Some members have to struggle while others make good livings, some lives are sad, some lives......more

Recently the NY Times reported on how family stories contribute to the development of confidence and resiliency in children. Marshall Duke, a professor at Emory has been researching the importance of family stories, stating, "Ordinary families can be special because they each have a history no other......more

In a way, it's a family epic, but with very ordinary Midwestern family members. No saints, no captains of industry, nobody famous or unusual, just middling-class types in downstate Illinois, in Edwardsville, who live and work and snap at each other from the late 19th Century to the end of the 20th.......more

This is a book about the author's family - from great-great-great grandparents on down to his grandparents. Most of the book is set in Edwardsville, Illinois, and the author does a good job of capturing the spirit of his family - hardworking, determined, church going people who built a life for them......more