Yikes. If the author had stuck to telling the stories, I'd probably have been amused. But this nostalgia trip is infused with ignorant attitudes and beliefs, and by page 27 I'd had all I could stomach. I'm sure the 50s were a great time to raise a family, and to grow up, if you were Christian, straight, white, male, healthy, and a member of the good 'ole boys club in your town.

However, if you weren't all of those things, good luck to you. And the author/ narrator doesn't get that. For example, he brags that his father got the home estate because the bank manager had inside information that the seller needed to sell cheap and fast. I find that dishonorable. He also claims to believe, for just one example, that ADHD is a formal term... to describe behavior that in the 1950's [sic] was simply identified as 'ornery.'... In the 50's the solution was far simpler... corporal punishment." I consider the advancements of medicine that help people with ADHD to be a very good thing, and "lickins" to be a very bad thing.

I recommend that authors who want to sneak proselytizing into a book that is marketed as a charming memoir should solicit beta readers whose opinions on such matters differ from theirs. Wood did have beta readers - but I bet they were friends, and that this book 'preached to the choir.' *I* am not a member of that choir, nor am I charmed.

I would give it one star, but since I gave up so early, my personal honor system prohibits me from passing judgement in the form of a goodreads rating. And who knows, maybe you are a member of the choir of old Texans like Wood and would enjoy this book.

(Oh, forgot to add, I received a copy of the book free from the author.)"