Chris Buckley is a wonderful writer, and the vignettes he offers of his mother and father are as beautiful as they are revelatory. The Buckleys were not ideal parents; great men (and this includes women) rarely have time to be. And it is at times, remarkable, that CB would offer such personal details about his parents. Even WFB, Lion of the Right and one of the most notable Catholics on the planet, considered suicide in his last year of life. The sort of suffering he endured in his final months, after his wife died, makes even great men meek.

I'm sure those close to the family were equal parts concerned and engrossed when the book finally was released.

But aside from the personal details included here, there are many wonderful passages in the book. One such passage, almost a throwaway, and perhaps especially meaningful to me because of the recent addition to our family, went something like this: a man should strive to do three things before he can call his life complete: have a son, plant a tree, write a book.

I like that list.