Growing Up on the Bar AP

by David Peterson

223 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Greg Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandpa wrote this book. I didn't give it 4 stars because its a literary masterpiece or because I am biased. I'm giving it 4 stars because I'm starting to come to the conclusion that my grandpa writing a book about his family, ancestors, and his life is actually really valuable. My grandpa is a pretty normal person and has lived a pretty normal life, nothing amazing. However, he has compiled so much family history that it would otherwise be totally lost. Why do I think this is all so important?

1) I know my grandpa a lot better now. The past 8 years, I have had a renaissance relationship with my grandparents. After years of not being close, we have a great relationship now and we really enjoy each other's company. My grandpa, like anyone, has parts of him that are frustrating, admirable, and everywhere in between. His personality, choices and beliefs make so much more sense.

2) I think family history is often seen as a hobby and nothing more. However, after reading the past 100 years of my own family history, my own place in society makes so much more sense. You can literally read how over decades my family accumulated wealth and land (to lose much of it later), and how I was able to be born into the community I was born into. I think about the economic and wealth part of it a lot.

Need to think more about this....