The Boys Of My Youth

This 1998 collection of Jo Ann Beard’s autobiographical snapshots of her life over the years resonated with me. Her mother and her aunt are cigarette-smoking, beer drinking, wisecrackers who remind me of Patty and Selma of The Simpsons. The end of her marriage is kind of sad but not terrible. She had a dad who drank too much. She had a cousin who was her best friend. She smoked a bit of pot, worked at a small office at a university where there was a mass shooting. The story of Jo Ann Beard is the story of my generation. I love her writing and feel like this wry, dog-loving, spirited woman could be my friend. I wish she wrote more.