Haven Kimmel, I have YOU to thank for keeping ME on the couch this entire morning finishing "She Got Up Off the Couch: and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana." But maybe it wasn't such a bad day to finish a book, and especially this one; a sub-zero Minnesota morning didn't exactly make many other activities (ok, work would have been good) that attractive.

Having previously indulged in "A Girl Named Zippy" by the same author, I was tempted to read the follow-up. Kimmel's account of life (more than a little on the edge) in small-town Indiana is detailed, poignant and honest. Written in a series of vignettes about neighbors, friends, siblings and parents, Kimmel manages to provide social commentary, personal insights and more as she takes us through her pre-adolescent years and watches her mother move from defeated, beaten-down spouse to successful college graduate and respected high school teacher.

I like Kimmel's style, and find the tales of her growing-up years (which are almost entirely coincidental with my own) and her mother's epiphanies to be quite inspirational.

Now, it's time for me to GET OFF THE COMPUTER and go make something positive of my own life. If you'll excuse me....