Santa Fe in the Fifties: A Memoir of Change in the City Different Book

The book concerns Wayne returning to his childhood home in Maine after a ten-year absence to attend a bedside vigil for his mother Jenny, who is dying of cancer. His emotionally bereft gay brother, Bruce and his quietly complaining Aunt Louise are of little solace, and he is forced to call Ralph, who has never met Wayne's family - or had to endure a Maine winter - to his side to preserve his sanity. He weaves this story with memories of another childhood winter, showing that time rarely changes how family members relate to each other. Courtois has an incredible eye for detail and an impeccable intuition about which detail is the most telling. He can break your heart and do so in a way that also brings a smile to your face. His humor is simple and true, unlike the over-rehearsed stand-up comedy you get with Augusten Burroughs or David Sedaris, and the contrast between his loving relationship with Ralph and the distance of his family is both personal and universal at the same time. A Report from Winter is as true and as true to life as life gets. Full review at