The author gave me this book this past Christmas. 'Twas a delightful gift. It's a compilation of columns she had written for the Whidbey Island Marketplace from 2002-2005. In her column, she wrestled with the social issues of the day--exposing corruption, speaking truth to power, and advocating for the disenfranchised. ... Just kidding. Actually she just told jokes and made snarky comments about having a weekend home on the island. But it's funny, so that's why I'm keeping the book on my shelf rather than quietly donating it the Goodwill. Pat--I'll call her Pat rather than following my usual practice of using the author's title and surname, because I don't think I could type "Ms. Detmer" with a straight face--Pat does a great job of pulling out the character of the people and places she writes about. Even though it was a world unfamiliar to me, I felt I was laughing with friends rather than laughing at "those weird people over there". And laugh I did. I had to be verrry careful when reading the book over lunch. (Fortunately, no beverage was spewed.) So go ahead and grab a copy of this book. In the meantime, I'll be heading over to her >website to see what other writings I can read.
--J. ( )