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King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography – The Riveting, Laugh-Out-Loud Funny Young Adult Coming-of-Age Memoir
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age A riveting, scorching—and hilarious—autobiography by the award-winning author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Deadline . From trying to impress a member of the girls’ softball team (with disastrous dental results) to enduring the humiliation of his high school athletic club initiation (olives and oysters play unforgettable roles), Chris Crutcher’s memoir of the tricky road to adulthood is candid, disarming, laugh-out-loud funny, relevant, and never less than riveting. He vividly describes a temper that was always waiting to trip him up even as it sustained him through some of the most memorable mishaps any child has survived. And how did this guy (he lifted his brother’s homework through the entire tenth grade) ever become a writer, not to mention the author of fourteen critically acclaimed books for young people? The frontier may be mild, but the book is not. Fans of Tara Westover’s Educated , Jack Gantos’s Hole in My Life , and Walter Dean Myers’s Bad Boy will laugh, will cry, and will remember. “Funny, bittersweet and brutally honest. Readers will clasp this hard-to-put-down book to their hearts even as they laugh sympathetically.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
260 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
48 people are currently reading
1021 people want to read
About the author
Chris Crutcher
35 books808 followersChris Crutcher's writing is controversial, and has been frequently challenged and even banned by individuals who want to censor his books by removing them from libraries and classrooms. Running Loose and Athletic Shorts were on the ALA's top 100 list of most frequently challenged books for 1990-2000. His books generally feature teens coping with serious problems, including abusive parents, racial and religious prejudice, mental and physical disability, and poverty; these themes are viewed as too mature for children. Other cited reasons for censorship include strong language and depictions of homosexuality. Despite this controversy, Crutcher's writing has received many awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
December 5, 2010
♥ i love chris crutcher ♥
if oddballs was augusten burroughs for the younger generation, chris crutcher is their david sedaris. both books are humorous essays involving childhood and family and all the tales of things that happen to shape a boy into a man, but crutcher just has better stories. and a more genial approach to telling them. part of this is due to a complete lack of vanity on his part; a trait those sedaris kids have in spades. seemingly unconcerned about how he appears to others, crutcher is able to gleefully recount his mishaps, foibles, pettiness, and shortcomings both physical and personality-wise. but you end up loving him because of this boldness. he is charming, he is real, he is relatable. he was a little kid with a terrible temper who wanted to impress girls and be good at something, anything, but kept fucking up*. his horribly transparent lies made me cringe in sympathy and remembrance. this is the stuff that makes paul feig and sara barron such satisfying humor writers, while sloane crossley, with her "does this story make me look fat?" hesitancy, is less enjoyable.
there is a genuine good-naturedness rolling off of these stories, and i can see this as an excellent match for kids who don't fit in and aren't good at sports to show you can still be successful despite uneven beginnings. because he is a normal kid, full of an eagerness to please, and loyalty and sweet gullibility, but also admits to stealing money from his mother's purse, masturbating all the time, cheating in school, and eating a lot of candy. he does not glamorize himself or make himself appear to be cool or athletic or smooth, or even intelligent. in fact, his father nicknames him "lever - nature's simplest tool." and you feel bad for this kid, but you know as an adult, he bears no grudges, and he became a really funny guy, so it's perfectly okay to laugh at him as a hapless teen.
i really liked whale talk, and a lot of the stories he tells in here later came into play in his novels. i am definitely going to read more of his books in the future, because he is a really gifted storyteller, but i think i would enjoy reading another collection of essays like this even more. in his "other" job, he works as a family therapist dealing primarily with severely abused children and he uses what he sees in his work to reach kids who may be in similar situations through his fiction-work, so his fiction (she judges based on the one novel she has read) ends up being both funny and moving.
i was only a little disappointed because the blurb on the from promised "a good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives," both of which i hate, but it is a very chris crutcher-specific reason, and not one i can use to inculcate the masses.
* i know that some people have a problem with "cursewords used in reviews of teen fiction titles because we have to protect teh children or whatever, but my belief is, if the author is going to use the words in the book, i am allowed to use them in the review. and i have a long way to go to catch up. one of the funnier passages from this book recounts his experience publishing his first novel, when it was recommended he tone down the language (which he did for the first novel, but then never did again):
"in its original form running loose was a three-hundred-page epic. i removed two words and it became a two-hundred-page coming-of-age novel. during that editing time, when one of my mother's friends asked her how i was doing, my mom told her she hadn't heard from me for two weeks, that she thought i was holed up at my typewriter unfucking my book"
if oddballs was augusten burroughs for the younger generation, chris crutcher is their david sedaris. both books are humorous essays involving childhood and family and all the tales of things that happen to shape a boy into a man, but crutcher just has better stories. and a more genial approach to telling them. part of this is due to a complete lack of vanity on his part; a trait those sedaris kids have in spades. seemingly unconcerned about how he appears to others, crutcher is able to gleefully recount his mishaps, foibles, pettiness, and shortcomings both physical and personality-wise. but you end up loving him because of this boldness. he is charming, he is real, he is relatable. he was a little kid with a terrible temper who wanted to impress girls and be good at something, anything, but kept fucking up*. his horribly transparent lies made me cringe in sympathy and remembrance. this is the stuff that makes paul feig and sara barron such satisfying humor writers, while sloane crossley, with her "does this story make me look fat?" hesitancy, is less enjoyable.
there is a genuine good-naturedness rolling off of these stories, and i can see this as an excellent match for kids who don't fit in and aren't good at sports to show you can still be successful despite uneven beginnings. because he is a normal kid, full of an eagerness to please, and loyalty and sweet gullibility, but also admits to stealing money from his mother's purse, masturbating all the time, cheating in school, and eating a lot of candy. he does not glamorize himself or make himself appear to be cool or athletic or smooth, or even intelligent. in fact, his father nicknames him "lever - nature's simplest tool." and you feel bad for this kid, but you know as an adult, he bears no grudges, and he became a really funny guy, so it's perfectly okay to laugh at him as a hapless teen.
i really liked whale talk, and a lot of the stories he tells in here later came into play in his novels. i am definitely going to read more of his books in the future, because he is a really gifted storyteller, but i think i would enjoy reading another collection of essays like this even more. in his "other" job, he works as a family therapist dealing primarily with severely abused children and he uses what he sees in his work to reach kids who may be in similar situations through his fiction-work, so his fiction (she judges based on the one novel she has read) ends up being both funny and moving.
i was only a little disappointed because the blurb on the from promised "a good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives," both of which i hate, but it is a very chris crutcher-specific reason, and not one i can use to inculcate the masses.
* i know that some people have a problem with "cursewords used in reviews of teen fiction titles because we have to protect teh children or whatever, but my belief is, if the author is going to use the words in the book, i am allowed to use them in the review. and i have a long way to go to catch up. one of the funnier passages from this book recounts his experience publishing his first novel, when it was recommended he tone down the language (which he did for the first novel, but then never did again):
"in its original form running loose was a three-hundred-page epic. i removed two words and it became a two-hundred-page coming-of-age novel. during that editing time, when one of my mother's friends asked her how i was doing, my mom told her she hadn't heard from me for two weeks, that she thought i was holed up at my typewriter unfucking my book"
May 5, 2015
Listening to this audiobook was like taking a roadtrip with Chris while he regaled me with stories about his life.
April 27, 2022
Review originally published July 2003
I often wonder where authors get their ideas for the books they write. When Chris Crutcher’s autobiography, King Of The Mild Frontier, came into our library, I was eager to see what some of his inspirations were.
Chris Crutcher is a noted, sometimes controversial, author of books for young adults. He was a teacher, a child, and a family therapist, and didn’t start writing until he was 35. The characters in his books often have difficulties to deal with. When asked by an interviewer whether he felt life was fair since his characters go through the things they do, his surprising answer was, “Yes, it is.” Chris says, “Life is exactly fair. It has order and randomness and it moves through the universe without prejudice or passion.”
You can definitely see some similarities between Chris’s childhood and the characters in some of his books. He relates several childhood experiences that made good stories. Chris tells his autobiography with the same sense of humor found in his books.
Some of the controversy about his books comes from his job as a therapist and educator. He brings such issues into his writing as suicide, rape, abandonment and prejudices. His characters deal with these things, and it sometimes makes people question if kids should be reading his books. By deciding to write his characters the way he does, he says he is making them real and treating them with the respect they deserve by telling their stories complete with all the difficulties they have to face in their lives.
We have many biographies at the library. Chances are if someone is or was famous they either wrote their own biography or someone wrote one about them!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
I often wonder where authors get their ideas for the books they write. When Chris Crutcher’s autobiography, King Of The Mild Frontier, came into our library, I was eager to see what some of his inspirations were.
Chris Crutcher is a noted, sometimes controversial, author of books for young adults. He was a teacher, a child, and a family therapist, and didn’t start writing until he was 35. The characters in his books often have difficulties to deal with. When asked by an interviewer whether he felt life was fair since his characters go through the things they do, his surprising answer was, “Yes, it is.” Chris says, “Life is exactly fair. It has order and randomness and it moves through the universe without prejudice or passion.”
You can definitely see some similarities between Chris’s childhood and the characters in some of his books. He relates several childhood experiences that made good stories. Chris tells his autobiography with the same sense of humor found in his books.
Some of the controversy about his books comes from his job as a therapist and educator. He brings such issues into his writing as suicide, rape, abandonment and prejudices. His characters deal with these things, and it sometimes makes people question if kids should be reading his books. By deciding to write his characters the way he does, he says he is making them real and treating them with the respect they deserve by telling their stories complete with all the difficulties they have to face in their lives.
We have many biographies at the library. Chances are if someone is or was famous they either wrote their own biography or someone wrote one about them!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
May 20, 2008
Now I've read "Ironman," "Stotan," "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes," and most recently, "Deadline." In some ways, Crutcher always does the same thing (confronting uncomfortable themes in a gripping story), but he does it so well. So this autobiography is my favorite so far because it told me why. It also contains so much wisdom. Some examples:
"No one is pretty; no one is ugly. There is no Jesus without Judas, no Martin Luther King, Jr., without the Klan; no Ali without Joe Frazier; no freedom without tyranny. No wisdom exists that does not include perspective. Relativity is the greatest gift.
"A truth about humans is that we are a trial-and-error species; we learn from our mistakes, not just our physical mistakes but our emotional and spiritual mistakes as well. I think humans aren’t defined so much by what they do 'right,' as by how they respond to what they do 'wrong.'
"…I have searched for my heroes among the small-t truths. I always find them among people learning the art of acceptance: not acceptance of defeat or acceptance of some inability to influence their own futures, but rather acceptance of life on the planet, acceptance of the grays rather than the black-and-whites, acceptance of the astonishing range of human emotion and human behavior."
He's my age; he works with kids; he believes in forgetting about the rules and finding out what is true and right.
"No one is pretty; no one is ugly. There is no Jesus without Judas, no Martin Luther King, Jr., without the Klan; no Ali without Joe Frazier; no freedom without tyranny. No wisdom exists that does not include perspective. Relativity is the greatest gift.
"A truth about humans is that we are a trial-and-error species; we learn from our mistakes, not just our physical mistakes but our emotional and spiritual mistakes as well. I think humans aren’t defined so much by what they do 'right,' as by how they respond to what they do 'wrong.'
"…I have searched for my heroes among the small-t truths. I always find them among people learning the art of acceptance: not acceptance of defeat or acceptance of some inability to influence their own futures, but rather acceptance of life on the planet, acceptance of the grays rather than the black-and-whites, acceptance of the astonishing range of human emotion and human behavior."
He's my age; he works with kids; he believes in forgetting about the rules and finding out what is true and right.
December 1, 2012
I feel like I am a bit embarrassed that I have never heard of Chris Crutcher, apparently famed, occasionally banned, author of popular young adult fiction. But, I love a good, funny memoir, so I picked this one up anyway. This collection meanders through a variety of personal experiences, hilariously told, of the author's mostly early years of life. In tales reminiscent of something like "A Christmas Story," with nostalgic tales of simpler days, the author shares experiences from his painfully dweeby upbringing. His writing is incredible and well-crafted as he weaves his way through these different accounts, and each has a very touching and well-meaning purpose that becomes better understood at the end of the book, when Crutcher shares his experiences as a counselor. Though the memoir does seem pretty exaggerated, it still has a pitch-perfect tone in doing so. I should probably now go on and read some of the books that Crutcher has previously published, but it seems unlikely that they can match up to the hilarity of his real life experiences.
February 11, 2015
I really enjoyed listening to Chris narrate the audio version of this memoir. What really stood out for me was chapter 13, which is where he justifies the strong language and less-than-pretty situations he writes about in his books and why he will always write about controversial topics. I immediately ordered a copy of the book after reading that chapter. I will give it to any parent or administrator who challenges a book in my classroom.
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March 16, 2025Haha, holy shit boomer childhood sounds bleak—so much alcohol and bullying and repressed emotions. A few times the author points out how things were wrong, but I suppose since he became a therapist he had a perspective of how much relatively worse it could have gone?? Still … so many funny stories (the scab! Wtf!) and I enjoyed his voice.
This made me laugh and it made me a tad more sympathetic to my parents 🙃
This made me laugh and it made me a tad more sympathetic to my parents 🙃
February 24, 2021
Part of my love for this book is in knowing the some of people and most of the places Chris Crutcher tells about. A bigger part of my love for this book is in the telling of how he created his characters for his novels. Heroism is not born of greatness but of adversity. It is the act accepting life in this world and not letting it destroy you no matter how hard it may try.
March 7, 2017
Some bad language but really enjoyed the tales of childhood and adolescence because of Crutcher's humor, struggle with temper, and adventuresome nature. I have not read any of his award winning/controversial fiction. Sometimes I simply shook my head. The things boys do. Left me with smiles.
March 22, 2025
I thought King of the Mild Frontier was really a 4 1/2 star book. I am trying to save my five star ratings for those books I consider the best of the best. This one was pretty darn close. I listened to the audiotape version read by Chris Crutcher. It was funny, funny, funny! If you have read any of my other reviews, you already know how many points laughing out loud earns with me. I laughed out loud many times. It was funny and entertaining whether or not you have read any other books by Chris Crutcher. If you have read Whale Talk (highly recommended) you will appreciate this book even more. It reminded me of On Writing by Steven King. A lot. It's probably not quite as good as On Writing though. That's another book that should be listened to as read by the author, by the way. Incredible book, that one.
audiobook
audiobook
July 10, 2010
I read this for part of my memoir project for YA lit. I've enjoyed Crutcher's fiction and I also enjoyed reading his autobiography. He reveals his childhood and motivations in creating his characters. I especially liked the last few chapters, where Crutcher discusses being a therapist and the anti-heroes that he develops for his novels. The book did, however, feel very unorganized and jumpy. Despite the fact that I wanted to reorganize pretty much every chapter, I loved this book for the honesty and humor that Crutcher uses to write about his life.
March 16, 2016
What an awesome autobiography. It is clear that Chris Crutcher seamlessly weaves the characters, settings and themes of his life throughout this book. In addition, as I'm reading his fiction with my students, it's impossible for me to not think of how all of these stories have been the building blocks of his short stories and novels. He's the perfect subject for an author study because of this, and my students are gaining so much in both the areas of reading like a writer and reading like a reader through this experience.
March 28, 2015
Chris Crutcher's childhood in Cascade, Idaho is artfully told with wit, humor, anger, and a TON of great great stories. I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers, whether or not they had read any of Crutcher's other books -- Crutcher's young life was hilarious and sad, and above all, Crutcher is a great storyteller.
July 18, 2017
Humorous, honest, thought-provoking, split-a-gut-laughable. I love his explanations of his heroes, his disdain for anyone who thinks he should tone down the characters, language or otherwise tell simple morality tales. Read Whale Talk or Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes or any of his other novels before this so you can thoroughly enjoy his explanations of his writing.
October 6, 2010
i think that this was a great story about chris crutcher temper tantrumes when he was littler.It show how he have matured a little when he got older.this is a great autobiography to read if you enjoy story on child hood memorys.
December 14, 2015
This is a great book. I chose to read it because I needed to read a book by someone from my hometown. Well, home state had to be close enough. Crutcher knows how to tell a story with a sucker punch at the end. I look forward to reading more of his work.
June 27, 2012
Great to read about how his experiences play into his writing. He is a great writer.
February 25, 2019
29 October 2002 KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER: AN ILL-ADVISED AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Chris Crutcher, Greenwillow, April 2003
" 'Wanna do something neat?' are four words that strike terror in my heart to this day. My answer was always yes when the question came from my brother. Then he'd tell me what the neat thing was, and it would always seem not so neat until he explained how whatseemed like something that could really get you in trouble was, in fact, neat. Then I'd get in trouble."
Chris Crutcher's outrageous tales of being a little brother, a young scholar, a doomed outdoorsman, and an athlete of questionable repute caused me to convulse with laughter to the point where my head started to hurt, and I began figuring that just one more story like the last one and I'd surely pee my pants.
And lying just below the surface of this wacky World According to Young Master Crutcher is a sparkling mine full of poignant vignettes and profound-yet-simple truths about a youngster coming to terms with God, with death, with family, with intolerance, and with his place in the world.
In KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER, Chris Crutcher goes on to talk from the heart about his idea of real heroes and reveals several brief (and heartbreaking) glimpses of his work as a child and family therapist. He gives us a look at his path to becoming a writer. By the time he's done, readers have a sense of how the experiences and revelations have melded together into those honest and gritty novels that we know and love him for, and which earned him the 2000 Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring lifetime contribution in writing for teens.
Chris Crutcher is a consummate storyteller. He's also a guy who knows how to slice through the crap that authority figures often try feeding to kids. Those two hundred plus pages of KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER: AN ILL-ADVISED AUTOBIOGRAPHY passed by much too quickly for me. Teens will be certain to eat this book up in a hurry and rush out to meet all of those characters he's brought to life over the past two decades.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
" 'Wanna do something neat?' are four words that strike terror in my heart to this day. My answer was always yes when the question came from my brother. Then he'd tell me what the neat thing was, and it would always seem not so neat until he explained how whatseemed like something that could really get you in trouble was, in fact, neat. Then I'd get in trouble."
Chris Crutcher's outrageous tales of being a little brother, a young scholar, a doomed outdoorsman, and an athlete of questionable repute caused me to convulse with laughter to the point where my head started to hurt, and I began figuring that just one more story like the last one and I'd surely pee my pants.
And lying just below the surface of this wacky World According to Young Master Crutcher is a sparkling mine full of poignant vignettes and profound-yet-simple truths about a youngster coming to terms with God, with death, with family, with intolerance, and with his place in the world.
In KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER, Chris Crutcher goes on to talk from the heart about his idea of real heroes and reveals several brief (and heartbreaking) glimpses of his work as a child and family therapist. He gives us a look at his path to becoming a writer. By the time he's done, readers have a sense of how the experiences and revelations have melded together into those honest and gritty novels that we know and love him for, and which earned him the 2000 Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring lifetime contribution in writing for teens.
Chris Crutcher is a consummate storyteller. He's also a guy who knows how to slice through the crap that authority figures often try feeding to kids. Those two hundred plus pages of KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER: AN ILL-ADVISED AUTOBIOGRAPHY passed by much too quickly for me. Teens will be certain to eat this book up in a hurry and rush out to meet all of those characters he's brought to life over the past two decades.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
September 10, 2020
The storytelling pace of Chris Crutcher's autobiography King of the Mild Frontier lured me in to read it in just one day. Crutcher grew up in Idaho, the middle child in the family in the post-WWII era. His father taught him life lessons, which Chris interpreted literally and always got him into trouble. What Crutcher writes about is a snapshot from another time, and yet what draws you in as a reader is that it is a great coming-of-age story.
Crutcher shares that he was not talented as an athlete, but that every male high school student was expected to be on a team. When he earns his letter, there is a top secret ceremony that he may have been the only one in the world to finally tell, and when you read about it, you will laugh until your sides hurt.
Crutcher admits there were times when he was mean. That'a a very hard thing to share in a memoir, and I give him a lot of credit for doing so. When he writes about how he nominated a girl who had been bullied and was considered to be unpopular as Homecoming Queen, the teachers and students just knew that they needed to give this girl her chance to shine, and they helped her to have a wonderful time at the dance. His awkwardness with girls can be very humorous, like the time he stepped in to help with a softball game and a girl swung the bat and knocked out Chris's front teeth; and his crush didn't even notice him.
This story may have taken place long ago, but you will relive all of the awkward moments, unintended hurts, and crazy-funny times he shares through this memoir. Crutcher relates stories about some of his client in his years as a family counselor, and incorporates the concepts of people who were once abusive to others searching for redemption. This is a great read for eighth grade students and older, especially boys.
Crutcher shares that he was not talented as an athlete, but that every male high school student was expected to be on a team. When he earns his letter, there is a top secret ceremony that he may have been the only one in the world to finally tell, and when you read about it, you will laugh until your sides hurt.
Crutcher admits there were times when he was mean. That'a a very hard thing to share in a memoir, and I give him a lot of credit for doing so. When he writes about how he nominated a girl who had been bullied and was considered to be unpopular as Homecoming Queen, the teachers and students just knew that they needed to give this girl her chance to shine, and they helped her to have a wonderful time at the dance. His awkwardness with girls can be very humorous, like the time he stepped in to help with a softball game and a girl swung the bat and knocked out Chris's front teeth; and his crush didn't even notice him.
This story may have taken place long ago, but you will relive all of the awkward moments, unintended hurts, and crazy-funny times he shares through this memoir. Crutcher relates stories about some of his client in his years as a family counselor, and incorporates the concepts of people who were once abusive to others searching for redemption. This is a great read for eighth grade students and older, especially boys.
April 15, 2025
I have read some of Crutcher’s books and really enjoyed them. I found them real. So I was looking forward to reading his autobiography. Maybe I should have skipped it. The book itself was well-written. The person it revealed is not a person I would want to meet. Crutches lost me at the chapter where he justifies his atheism/agnosticism. As is usual for atheists, the arrogance dripped from every page. They always think they have been imbued with a special revelation that makes them better than everyone else, and Crutcher was no different. From that chapter onward I could see that spirit of rebellion and challenge to everything. Pride is what it is called, and it is not the good kind of pride. He was a mean, conniving child and adolescent.. I will still read his works, but I was very disappointed to learn about the man.
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May 6, 2020Chris Crutcher is a well-known author of books for teenagers. The LMC has 9 of his books, and if you haven't read them, you should! This is the author's autobiography - one of the funniest books I have read in a long time!
Crutcher grew up as a self-proclaimed "dateless, broken-toothed, scabbed over, God-fearing dweeb," and he capitalizes on his crazy childhood to fill his books with characters, events and themes.
Read p. 35: "Wanna do something neat? Then I'd get in trouble." Then read p. 39"My brother's real coup had to be the time … I'm seven and John is two years older … it's like the shooting gallery at Zino's … come on, it'll be neat!"
Needless to say, it was not a neat experience.
Crutcher grew up as a self-proclaimed "dateless, broken-toothed, scabbed over, God-fearing dweeb," and he capitalizes on his crazy childhood to fill his books with characters, events and themes.
Read p. 35: "Wanna do something neat? Then I'd get in trouble." Then read p. 39"My brother's real coup had to be the time … I'm seven and John is two years older … it's like the shooting gallery at Zino's … come on, it'll be neat!"
Needless to say, it was not a neat experience.
Read
May 30, 2020Well, I see where a lot of Whale Talk came from. He really does believe that people need to hear about ugliness and pain so that they aren't blindsided by them. He feels strongly that knowledge of pain builds compassion. It's kind of like what Ixtel says in Marcelo in the Real World about getting the nice and the ugly parts of herself to stop hating each other.
That's the philosophical part of the book. Most of it was a lot of funny/disgusting stories about growing up--his failed attempts to impress girls, the pranks his brother plays on him, his athletic awkwardness. The "Chris Christ" incident from Whale Talk was based on a personal experience. The girl Heidi was based on a real person too.
That's the philosophical part of the book. Most of it was a lot of funny/disgusting stories about growing up--his failed attempts to impress girls, the pranks his brother plays on him, his athletic awkwardness. The "Chris Christ" incident from Whale Talk was based on a personal experience. The girl Heidi was based on a real person too.
July 30, 2020
3.5/4 stars
I am Chris Crutcher’s Facebook friend, which of course means we are real friends (duh), but I wanted to read this book to get more info about him and his life. This read made me laugh out loud at times because of his whit and humor and the power of his storytelling. I’m not sure if people who aren’t fans of this author would enjoy this book as much, but if you are a fan of his work, it was a fun read. You get an idea of his childhood and family relationships and jobs before/while he became a writer that really shows why he writes the way he does and the characters he does. I didn’t do full stars because it just ended kind of bluntly and left me feeling like there could’ve been more info. What was here was great, though!
I am Chris Crutcher’s Facebook friend, which of course means we are real friends (duh), but I wanted to read this book to get more info about him and his life. This read made me laugh out loud at times because of his whit and humor and the power of his storytelling. I’m not sure if people who aren’t fans of this author would enjoy this book as much, but if you are a fan of his work, it was a fun read. You get an idea of his childhood and family relationships and jobs before/while he became a writer that really shows why he writes the way he does and the characters he does. I didn’t do full stars because it just ended kind of bluntly and left me feeling like there could’ve been more info. What was here was great, though!
August 16, 2025
Overall rating: 3.5/5 stars
I probably wouldn't recommend this book to people who weren't already fans of his works of fiction, if for the only reason that this book helps you ~get~ Chris Crutcher in a way that only makes sense through his other books. He's humorous and surprising, witty and reflective, honest and realistic. This snapshot gives readers a peek into a different time, albeit a bit of a shocking time given the context of today, but some good tales nonetheless. It was great seeing some real personal history woven through his novels and this book is a testament that people can grow up to be very different people indeed.
"You can't tell the good stuff from the bad stuff when it's happening. In fact, it isn't good or bad. It's just stuff."
I probably wouldn't recommend this book to people who weren't already fans of his works of fiction, if for the only reason that this book helps you ~get~ Chris Crutcher in a way that only makes sense through his other books. He's humorous and surprising, witty and reflective, honest and realistic. This snapshot gives readers a peek into a different time, albeit a bit of a shocking time given the context of today, but some good tales nonetheless. It was great seeing some real personal history woven through his novels and this book is a testament that people can grow up to be very different people indeed.
"You can't tell the good stuff from the bad stuff when it's happening. In fact, it isn't good or bad. It's just stuff."
May 10, 2018
In the story "King of the Mild Frontier" the main character named Crutcher tells you the journey from his childhood in remote Cascade, Idaho to his present life as a writer. Among the many laugh-out-loud episodes he recalls are his older brother's talent for always gaining the upper hand , plus the author's liking for "perty girls," which lost him his front teeth when he tried to impress a girl while playing softball. Nothing tops his misadventures in small-town sports , including when he was a terrified 123-pound freshman and his initiation as a letterman. Crutcher can also turn from hilarity to heartache, as when he discusses his mother's alcoholism and his own temper.
December 12, 2018
This was really an honest (whether you like it or not) portrayal of what it was like to view the world as a kid. During the course of this autobiography, he gets shot in the head with BB guns, has his teeth knocked out with a baseball bat, is kicked out of Sunday School and humiliated countless times. Anyone else would cringe at revealing such things, but Crutcher seems to revel in sharing his embarrassments. Indeed, he draws valuable lessons from them. This book, despite the humor, deals with serious topics such as death, religion and the consequences of cruelty. After reading this book, it is funny but most importantly, it is real in a non sugar coated way.
June 6, 2019
This was a re read for me. I first read it when I moved to Cascade over a decade ago. I passed my copy on to my students at Cascade High and never saw it again! A new copy crossed my path recently so I jumped on it. I told my husband to read it, he loved it, and now I'll pass it on to my daughter, (P.E. Teacher at Cascade!) I'll probably never see this copy again either. The story is funny because we can relate to the story no matter where we grew up, you laugh or you cry because it hits so close to home.
June 2, 2025
I enjoyed reading this memoir. It’s grew up in Cascade and knew Chris’s mother. My dad worked at the hospital and my mother was a teacher. They knew many of the people in this story. Chris was long gone when my family showed up in town, but his recollections mirror some of my own about the community and growing up in a small town.
Some funny moments, sad memories, and poignant reflections on choices made in his youth. He ties in some of his experiences as a teacher and counselor into the story telling of his youth.
Some funny moments, sad memories, and poignant reflections on choices made in his youth. He ties in some of his experiences as a teacher and counselor into the story telling of his youth.
June 23, 2018
This is an amazing book. A couple times I had to pause and reread certain lines and parts, so it could’ve used a little bit more clean-up in the editing, which is the only reason it got four stars other than the fact I could put it down and pick it up while later without having to finish. But it was a great mix of humor, insight, and heartache. But definitely laugh-out-loud FUNNY, and really worth reading, especially if you’re Chris cut your fan, which I definitely am.
November 3, 2017
I really enjoyed this book mainly for its humor. Chris Crutcher explained the story so well that I could picture it in my head. It really shows the relationship between two brothers especially since it’s a true story. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys a lot of humor. I would consider reading another Chris Crutcher book sometime soon.
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