Family Nostalgia

Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary, a man's home has never been his castle, the "male breadwinner marriage" is the least traditional family in history, and rape and sexual assault were far higher in the 1970s than they are today. In The Way We Never Were, acclaimed historian Stephanie Coontz examines two centuries of the American family, sweeping away misconceptions about the past that cloud current debates about domestic life. The 1950s do not present a workable model of how to conduct our personal lives today, Coontz argues.

From the best-selling author of One Day comes a bittersweet and brilliantly funny coming-of-age tale about the heart-stopping thrill of first love - and how just one summer can forever change a life.

Fannie Flagg gives us a story of richly human characters, the saving graces of the once-maligned middle classes and small-town life, and the daily contest between laughter and tears.

When a Partridge Family like band came to perform at my elementary school in March of 1974, it provided an epic moment in my life. A funny and nostalgic coming of age short story, My Encounter with The Partridge Family is another entertaining true tale from the pen of James J. Caterino, the author of Method Acting, To Meghan, and How Not to Become a Hollywood Screenwriter.

Two days after Christmas, 1948, in a city that could be New York, a young woman prepares to get a life-altering haircut. She's a princess, a post-war refugee, from an Eastern European principality that no longer exists. And she's being forced by her guardians-- her nefarious aunt and uncle-- to marry an obscenely rich industrialist who's got something of a hair fetish. The man, it seems, is aroused only by her amazingly long, glorious hair. So to save herself, she decides to get it all cut off. But she doesn't count on falling in love with the handsome young barber who refuses, at first, to...

Childhood Memories of the 1950’s is a humorous and nostalgic look at life in the 1950’s as seen through the eyes of a young boy. Robert Simpson has captured some of his fondest memories of growing up during the decade that produced thousands of post-World War II babies who came to be known as “Baby Boomers.” It was the decade during which television, air conditioning, fast food and shopping centers first became part of our daily life. It was a decade when kids “walked the dog” with their yo-yos and entire families twirled hula hoops. Doctors made house calls and little boys made...

Saturday night and the Pier Ballroom in Swansea is the place to be. For Lily, an evacuee unclaimed by her family at the end of the war; for Judy, taught independence by her war widow mother; for Katie, the product of a marriage between a drunken, violent father and a cowed, beaten mother; and for the spoiled, wilful Helen. It is an evening that fuels jealousies and sows the seeds for friendships, confidences, and life-changing romance . . .

Sabrina Greenlee was born to teenage parents in the shadow of South Carolina’s Clemson University, and her story unfolds against the backdrop of her challenging upbringing in a family that lacked the means—financial and emotional—to offer her and her two brothers the safety, comfort, and love every child deserves. When she was a teenager, her beloved younger brother, Dilly, died in a drunk driving accident. In her early twenties, Sabrina faced the tragic loss of her fiancé and one true love. A decade later, she was brutally and publicly assaulted, resulting in the loss of her vision.

Rey is new to time travel and still learning how it works. She’s come back in time in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a future disaster. She doesn’t know if she can change the timeline but she’s determined to find out. She arrives outside Daily Grind a matter of weeks before the cafe will be destroyed in a fire that leaves one dead. It’s the perfect test. She seizes the opportunity and weaves her way into the fabric of the team. Dom runs Daily Grind, the cafe that turned his life round. But now it’s under threat of demolition and he doesn’t know if he has the energy to save it. ...

Embark on a heartwarming journey through the pages of "Our Little Red Wagon: A Family Tale," the enchanting novella by the masterful wordsmith, Lord Toph. In a world where the magic of family and the innocence of childhood collide, this timeless narrative unfolds, weaving a tapestry of love, kinship and the cherished memories that define us. Within the embrace of these pages, readers will be transported to a bygone era, a place where three cousins, Lynda, Michael and Christopher, form an unbreakable bond that not even time can erode. Set against the backdrop of sun-drenched days and starlit...

When art historian Max Morden returns to the seaside village where he once spent a childhood holiday, he is both escaping from a recent loss and confronting a distant trauma.

Childhood and adolescence were a virtual rollercoaster ride for Mark Johnson. In his second book—Tales of a Rollercoaster Operator: Stories from My Missouri Youth—he navigates the highs and lows of coming of age in St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1960s and 1970s.Experience Mark’s favorite growing-up twists and turns in this collection of twenty-six funny and poignant essays, including learning to drive a rollercoaster, discovering the joys of a first pet, embarking on a quest with his father to wrangle World Series tickets, and witnessing the wonder in a brand new year after a chance ...

Tomato sandwiches. Tobacco barns. Cooking collards. A shopping list left on a desk for 40 years at a deceased grandparent's house. Traditions that die as families age. What it means to "be country." Pig pickins'. Splitting firewood. Minor league baseball. Redneck snow days. Places that you can't go back again—sometimes good, sometimes not. All of these nostalgic and not-so-nostalgic stories from a rural upbringing are colliding with the New(er) South and are at risk of being lost from the culture. A Southern Season: Rural Stories is a collection of short stories about the food, lifestyle,...

"If you can believe in a person, their world comes with them: the events they lived through, the miracles they witnessed, the lessons they learnt." On a frozen Cambridge night at the turn of the millennium, sixteen-year-old Nick becomes the reluctant saviour of a homeless man named Peter. In the weeks that follow, Peter introduces Nick to his faith, which offers Nick certainty right when he needs it. But as Nick learns more about Peter, he begins to doubt the path he has chosen. Can Peter help Nick cope with his parents’ separation? What about his budding relationship with the headstrong ...

Peter Leroy explores one of his earliest memories, his mother’s tumble from her lawn chair; probes the root causes of his childhood pelecypodophobia (fear of bivalve mollusks, particularly clams); navigates the upper reaches of the Bolotomy River; builds a radio receiver and explores the farthest reaches of the galaxy; ponders the differences between dour foxes and happy clams; falls in love with the girl with the white fur muff; learns the pleasures of skating on ice and taking the long way home; becomes a fan of the Larry Peters Adventure series; and rises to the rank of Aluminum ...

The emotional, epic conclusion to the Laura and Laurie trilogy, a series of real-life True Stories from James J. Caterino, the author of True Stories, True Stories 2, Fantastic Stories, The Man in the Window, My Encounter with The Partridge Family, The Andromeda Girl, Jade, Cool Stuff, Escape to Nowhere, and much more.

Laura and Laurie: The Trilogy is a complete collection of all three chapters in the decade-spanning, epic tale of a once in a lifetime friendship. A real-life True Story from writer James J. Caterino, the author of True Stories, True Stories 2, Escape to Nowhere, and much more.

Black Water is a memoir about intergenerational trauma and healing, about connection and about how Don’s life informed David’s own. Facing up to a story nearly erased by the designs of history, father and son journey together back to the trapline at Black Water and through the past to create a new future.

America 1968. Protests against the Vietnam War, for Civil Rights, sit-ins, love-ins, happenings - youth pitted against the establishment, hoping to create a better world. Everyone has one special summer. For British students Penny and Kate, and Americans Bobby and Sandy, it was that summer on Cape Cod. Warm languid days filled with love, laughter and music. Until the night Bobby's car crashed and burst into flames, and a bitter old woman took control, changing the survivors' lives for ever. One of the four was killed, another damaged; a third disappeared never to be seen by family or ...

In the picturesque Acacia, a sudden tragedy forces five siblings to face their loss and rediscover their bonds. Jane, the eldest, finds solace in her doting husband, Evan, and their two daughters, seeking the normalcy of their daily routines. Attorney Andrew, immersed in the legalities of their parents' will, grapples with the weight of responsibilities, balancing his duty to his siblings and the demands of his family with his wife Grace and son Thomas. Brendan, struggling the most, faces a double-edged sword of grief. With his wife Aubrey expecting twins, he's torn between joy and sorrow ...