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Unexpected Inheritance
Mick Jagger was right. "You can't always get what you want..."
...Especially not from preceding generations of your own family. And you can't always control the lessons or traits you pass on to your descendants, either.
This hard truth lies at the heart of author Stephen M. Vest's nostalgic collection of family tales. Through a series of real-life vignettes exploring the relationships within his own feisty, fascinating family, Vest uncovers the many values, traits, and life lessons — often unexpected — that he inherited from his older parents, domineering grandmother, and other colorful characters who influenced his life.
Vest's stories will strike a chord of warm familiarity with readers who will recognize a little bit of their own families, and maybe a little bit of themselves, on each page. They also affirm that the rest of Mick Jagger's line is also true, especially when it comes to family:
"If you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."
...Especially not from preceding generations of your own family. And you can't always control the lessons or traits you pass on to your descendants, either.
This hard truth lies at the heart of author Stephen M. Vest's nostalgic collection of family tales. Through a series of real-life vignettes exploring the relationships within his own feisty, fascinating family, Vest uncovers the many values, traits, and life lessons — often unexpected — that he inherited from his older parents, domineering grandmother, and other colorful characters who influenced his life.
Vest's stories will strike a chord of warm familiarity with readers who will recognize a little bit of their own families, and maybe a little bit of themselves, on each page. They also affirm that the rest of Mick Jagger's line is also true, especially when it comes to family:
"If you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 18, 2022
My friend Steve Vest wrote this excellent memoir with a twist: Many memoirs rely on harrowing accounts of parents who neglect or abuse their children. Steve has just the opposite issue: his mom and especially his dad are so nice, he is at a loss to explain their remarkably gentle and kind personalities. One possibility is his mom's irascible mother, who Steve describes as an Endora on Bewitched look-alike. Steve's self-effacing and good humor make for a great piece of Florida and Kentucky nostalgia.
January 1, 2016
Strong individual family profiles. A series of stand alone chapters that can loosely hang together. I enjoyed the feeling it created of growing up but I didn't find all the material that interesting.
April 26, 2015
loved the storytelling and found some of my own family in this stories
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews