On the heels of the popular Honey, I Dunked the Kids, award-winning columnist Phil Callaway continues his lighthearted look family life--a whole new collection of stories about the joys and struggles of being part of a family. Cartoon illustrations throughout.

His fathers death prompted him to preserve his family memories for his descendents, but the writing quickly grew into a life essay on farm life, Southern cooking, dogs, small-town life in the 1950s, and the demise of our current culture. The book is written in the authors voice and evokes feelings of Sams, Grizzard, and Rooney. He believes our culture is being slowly destroyed from within by small dogs, cats, bad barbecue, kudzu, fat-free ice cream, cell phones, e-mail, the Internet, childproof lids, hard plastic security packaging, iPods, video players in automobiles, kids not being raised right, rudeness, fast food, moms who dont cook, high school graduates who cant read, long-winded preachers, the disappearance of real Southern cooking, and the popularity of instant grits, Diet Pepsi, and unsweetened tea. His familys history is a goldmine of great food, quirky characters, outlandish actions, and bodacious behavior; he has mined it shamelessly and offers no apologies.

The world has changed. Two hundred years ago most people lived in small rural communities. They walked or rode a horse when they traveled. Water wheels were their only source of power. Communication was restricted to the spoken and printed word. But everything changed. The change started slowly in the forests of western New York. Visionaries used the technology of the 1800's to manufacture potash from ashes, used the technology of the 1820's to collect and market natural gas, and used the technology of the 1840's to make kerosene from petroleum. Advances in engineering made it possible to dig canals and build railroads to get these products to market. These canals and railroads accelerated the pace of change. Merchants then learned to protect their interests by influencing public policy and funding decisions being made in the state legislatures and in the United States Congress. This resulting combination of technology, engineering, and public policy impacted the lives of those who lived in Chautauqua County many years ago, and it still impacts our lives today.

Fourteen-year-old Graham Sinclair was born with huge, strange hands. He was also born with a secret. The only time he ever told someone his secret, it got him into big trouble. So he won’t be telling anyone ever again—or so he thinks. In this suspenseful and magical debut novel, Graham finds his life suddenly, thrillingly complicated—and his secret harder and harder to conceal.

Can a leopard change its spots? What cataclysmic force or horrific event could bring a God-fearing, straight-as-an-arrow man to embrace Charles Ponzi as a hero? Zippy Cosmo was born at the height of the Great Depression to impoverished parents. He grew up on a cigarette and a piss for breakfast, but with a steely work ethic and a penchant for self-sacrifice and honesty. His picture is the dictionary definition of altruism. Widows and orphans championed him. He brought great happiness to the orgasmically deprived. No charitable cause was beneath his notice. The great, near-great, and the gutter-dweller were thrilled to be the subject of one of his magnificent, unsolicited oil portraits. Yet at life's end, he ripped off thousands for millions. Who wrought this change? The mob? A dominatrix? Witness the transformation of a soul that would give Freud dreams of revision...

"Power, author of the acclaimed Crawling at Night, introduces Dr. C.R. Ash, a neonatologist and chronic bachelor, the last in line to an odl Southern family name. During a snowy prelude to a much-anticipated hospital Christmas party, C.R. crosses paths with a world of local characters, living and dead; from Betty, his fire-fearing secretary and her cohort, Dr. Pendleton Compton; to C.R.'s lascivious best friend who mends the hearts of babies."--Jacket.

It's not easy being the bishop's daughter, especially for Lydie Stoltzfus. She's not like other Amish girls, as much as she wishes she were. The only thing she does well is disappoint others. Leaving her family and church seems unbearable, but staying might be worse. Knowing Lydie is "between" jobs, the local doctor asks her to fill in at the front desk for a few months. To Lydie, this is a boon. It gives her time to figure out how she's going to say goodbye to her neighbor, Nathan Yoder--the main reason she needs to leave Stoney Ridge. Nathan claims he's in love with her, but she knows she's not good enough for him. If in doubt, Nathan's father reminds her frequently. As Dok spends time with Lydie, she recognizes symptoms of a disorder rare among the Amish. She offers treatment for Lydie. But will it be enough to make her stay? Or has help come too late? Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to Stoney Ridge, a small town that feels like an old friend.