This book is a collection of self-baring memoirs that have been written well. Franzen hasn't disappointed his fans and delivers his witty yet honest take on American family life, this time his own, but he surely came short in telling the story in a gripping, teeth-gritting way as he did in his works of fiction. The stories tend to veer off in all sorts of directions, lose focus and end up sounding like incongruent journal entries. It's at the most a collection of random pieces of personal reflections rather than a tightly woven memoir. However, it is still a gem as it gives reader the insight into the life of one of America's most celebrated authors today. One consolation is to know that authors are ordinary people, too, and by sharing his innermost thoughts on some of life's trivial issues in such a blunt and honest way, openly admitting to failures and just simply the account of his rather mundane childhood in somber Webster Groves makes him all the more relatable and brings Franzen a step, if not a more, closer to his readers.