Monday Review: FICTION RUINED MY FAMILY by Jeanne Darst

I am just finishing Jeanne Darst's FICTION RUINED MY FAMILY.  Some of the best memoirs, of course, are the ones that examine dysfunctional families.  That may be why it is said that everyone has a book in them...all families are dysfuncitonal.

Jeanne Darst's father is a writer with an overload of  delusional behavior, always one book away from the Great American Novel.  Her mother was an alcoholic with social pretension, which always leads to dysfunction of the highest order.

How anyone ever turns out normal in our society is amazing to me after reading these memoirs, but the truth is that Darst comes off endearing, quirky and "normal".  Her sense of humor, evident throughout this cute little book, is clearly her coping mechanism and becomes the reader's tipping point of acceptance for Darst and her family.  Perhaps we see a little bit of them in ourselves.

If you like quirky memoirs that let you peek inside the lives of the people next door, this will make a terrific addition to your stack.

FICTION RUINED MY FAMILY
by Jeanne Darst
Riverhead Books / Penguin
Hardcover