Confessions of a Crazy Fox – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; A Book and A Dish and Think With Your Taste Buds

‘I stewed about it until New Year’s Day, 2010, and then I wrote Jimmy a long letter pointing out a lot of the things he and Jeannette had done to hurt me the last decade and if he didn’t put a stop to it, I was going to go ahead and release my story. I had decided not to take the last offer I had, after Jim was diagnosed with cancer, but my sister inspired me to try again. I knew I wouldn’t hear from my brother and posted on Facebook that New Year’s Day that my resolution was to publish my family memoir. It did shock a few family members who couldn’t imagine what I had to write about or why. I figured if Jeannette’s story was the one our extended family had been hearing all these years, perhaps it was finally time to broadcast mine. That shouldn’t really surprise any of them. They all know I write when I’m pissed and believe me, Jeannette pushed me way past that point this last time.’

I never research nor read other reviews before starting a new book and when I was sent a copy of Anna Mullis’ book Confessions of a Crazy Fox, I actually expected it to be a mystery, murder, suspense. What I never expected it to be was the story of her life. My first thoughts were borrrring! And since I will decline a book before I’ll write a bad review, I almost turned this book down. But I always give a book, any book, a chance and at least try to read the first 25-50 pages hoping it will appeal to me and that’s exactly what I did with Confessions of a Crazy Fox.

I read the first couple of chapters as Anna talked about her childhood, she sure had a streak of defiance! I continued reading as she introduced her ‘guardian angel’ that saved her from being bitten by a snake. When I read about her cousin Bobo I actually started feeling that I knew him. Her parents turned out to be the kind we all wish for. Their love for their family, friends and neighbors was something many only dream about. Then tragedy hits, first with the death of her Dad and later her Mother and with each also comes the separation of family. I’ve always said that the 2 things that bring out the worse in a family are weddings and funerals. I’ve decided to add another to that list - money.

Reading about the greed between the siblings actually reminded me of a few incidents within my own life after the death of my own parents. I’m sure we can all relate to this greed at some level, either through our own experiences or through the pains we’ve watched others experience. I personally feel that greed is the #1 cause of family problems throughout the world. And greed isn’t just about money. While reading Confessions of A Crazy Fox I finally realized that greed is nothing but jealousy. Someone gets just a bit more, got a bit more or will get a bit more, bringing on a jealousy called greed.

I’m sure that by now you have realized I read the whole book. Actually I had trouble putting it down. It firmly points out that if you make someone mad enough your sorrow might just come back to haunt you by way of a book telling the whole world just how greedy you really are. In Confessions of a Crazy Fox, Anna Mullins doesn’t just blow the top on her siblings she also includes her own sins throughout her life, and her honesty in admitting her own faults is one of the things that made this book so interesting.

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