Growing up, I learned two things early: how to take a joke (even when I was the joke) and how to stay out of trouble (mostly) by telling a joke. This book is a collection of stories from a childhood where discipline was creative, money was scarce, and laughter was often the only thing that kept everything from falling apart.

Told with humor that doesn't apologize and honesty that doesn't waver, these stories find comedy in the chaos and truth in the mess. Some moments will make you laugh out loud. Others might make you wince, then laugh.

This is a feel-real story. For anyone who grew up fast and learned sarcasm before self-confidence, and figured out early that humor is a survival skill, this book will feel like home.