Far From the Trees: The Troubled Sons of an American Neighborhood

by Michael Wellman

Norman Rockwell could have painted their childhoods. Their heritage was so auspicious and the future so promising that it's startling now to realize all that befell the kids from four families whose backyards and fortunes came together at a crossroads of their country's history.

Here is a remarkably personal account of coming of age during the cultural earthquake that toppled America's leaders and opened deep cracks nationwide, even on Kingman Boulevard.

This ode to life's first friendships springs from the ranks of the biggest generation in history and glimpses America's greatest public health crisis from the perspective of one alternately blessed and cursed neighborhood in the heart of the country.

284 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2008

Reviews

[Sarah Pongracz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far From the Trees is the heartfelt memoir of growing up during the turbulent decades of the 1960's and 1970's in the Heartland of the United States, Des Moines, Iowa. Michael Wellman captures the character of the times by telling the stories of four families and their sixteen children who lived on Kingman Boulevard on the west side of Des Moines, and attended Hubbell and Windsor Elementary Schools, Merrill Junior High, and Roosevelt High School. He describes the people, the places and the events that shaped and molded the friendships and the lives of the children who lived here; the joys as well as the sorrows. This memoir is very personal to me as well, because I grew up in this same area, attended the same schools, and knew and experienced many of the people and places and events portrayed here. It is full of nostalgia from a time gone by. Des Moines was a good place to grow up, and a good place to revisit.

[Elizabeth Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published 2009–This is a memoir of growing up and coming of age in the midcentury, Midwestern United States. The author was born in the 1950s and grew up in Des Moines in an era when kids played free and unsupervised. The Wellmans and three other families lived close together. The total of 16 kids grew up and attended the same junior and senior high schools. The author’s stories of games, mischief, place and time are well drawn and fun to read. The author and several among that neighborhood gang faced their share of difficulties caused by bad decisions and sometimes just bad luck. Mr. Wellman manages to move beyond the bad times and build a nice life. This is an entertaining and touching book.

[Patricia Lind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wellman has all the markings of a great author. He describes growing up in Des Moines perfectly and I can't wait to read his next book. He is a master at describing his characters so you feel like you know them personally.

[Corky]

Story about youth lost to drugs and alcohol. Basically a true story about a neighborhood in Des Moines, IA.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started strong but got bogged down in the later stages. I finished this book some time ago but didn't get it reviewed. :(