2023 book #64. 2013. A memoir of a single mom with 3 boys and how they survived the first year after her marriage ended. On a small Michigan farm no less. Humorous and heartwarming. Read for a book club.

Good writer, and a well told memoir of a hard period in her life. A reminder that poverty is always much closer than we think, and what that looks like from the inside. Vaguely annoying, in that I wanted her to succeed without the new love of my life marriage thing, but a good read for all of that. ( )

A cute, humorous look at a year in the life of a single mom , raising 3 boys on a Northern Michigan farm. Although this is billed as bio/memoir it's really not that at all. As I said, it just covers the one year, which is the year she left her husband. Said husband moved across the road. She refers to the husband as Mr. Wonderful (sarcastically) through-out.

The writing was not great, most of the stories were humorous, but a few times she irked me with the "poor me" attitude. All things considered, it deserves the 3 stars for the times it made me laugh or smile. ( )

Started strong but didn't pay off. Fully agree with Ella_Jill below. Very little homesteading inspo. Almost nothing on her journey to badassery, other than she became broke (due largely to her own choices and some bad luck) and over time became less so. ( )

BOOTSTRAPPER is not at all what I'd expected. Its better. A helluva lot better, in fact, and, if I could talk with author Mardi Jo Link, I'd apologize for my misplaced and wrongheaded expectations. Because I expected more man-bashing, more complaining, more whining about the unfairness of life, etc. Nope, if any of those things are here, they are overshadowed by this woman's grit, guts and sheer determination to overcome her reduced circumstances brought about by divorce and make a decent life for herself and her three sons. Her way of coping is the personification of that old expression about "pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps." Hence the title. And through it all she also tries to take her dad's advice to "keep your dobber up," while admitting she's not quite sure what a 'dobber' is. And it doesn't hurt that she's got three fine sons who are helpful and don't complain much about being suddenly poor when their parents divorce after nineteen years of marriage. And the stories of makeshift farming are funny and familiar. I too once had to deal with a nasty rooster, back when I was 10-12 years old, until my Grandpa showed me how to drop kick the ornery bastard clear across the chicken coop.

BOOTSTRAPPED is often hilarious, but it is also a very moving look at a family that pulls together to survive some pretty hard times. Mardi Jo Link is an extremely talented writer who has told her story with humor and heart. This is a great book. I loved it.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )