Story Behind The Book
One of the biggest regrets of my life is the fact that I had very little interest in my family history when I was young. By the time I became curious about the lives of my ancestors, most had passed on. I can recall a few tales like the mysterious circumstances of my maternal grandfather’s murder at the hand of his brother-in-law (ruled an act of self defense by a sympathetic jury), but I never thought to seek more information about any of my relatives. I played “Blue Bells of Scotland” on my trumpet for an aging great aunt when I was 12 years old. Even though I knew she was born on the Oregon Trail, I never asked her a single question. But today, I would give anything to hear her tell tales about living among Native Americans and carving a life out of the wilderness that was then the Oregon Territory. My primary motivation for writing this book was to leave a chronicle of my younger years in case any of my grandchildren ever want to know how I lived as a young boy. I hope they find some of my anecdotes enlightening and interesting. This book is for them, should they ever wonder about their family history.
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a great read. I began this book already reading three books and this is the one I could not put down. Joe Moreland’s memoir is about growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 50s and 60s. Life was not easy but the family stayed together and weathered the storms. A story of inspiration, humor and love. Although I grew up in the south, the life Joe described following World War II reminded me of my own childhood during this same time. <em>A Place to Lay My Head</em> is a memoir written for Joe’s children and grandchildren but it is as imaginative and intriguing as a work of fiction. For anyone interesting in writing their own memoir or stories from their childhood, this is a good guide.<br /><br /></span>