Many years ago, Jeanette Trefle promised herself she would write her story before she got (too) old and doddery. She thinks that while history in textbooks is made up of big events, for the rest of us, history is made by family and friends, teachers and the crazy man up the road. She wanted to write down her memories so her grandchildren would know where she discovered some of her weird ideas and what she did with her time before she met them.
“Even before I was born, I was trying to do things my own way. I made life difficult for my mother, Jess, who was confined to bed for the last trimester of her pregnancy. I had disappointed my father, Geoff, by insisting that I be born a day earlier than his birthday, and I had mercifully waylaid ...