Knitting with Daisy

Truly one of those memoirs that if you're not laughing you're crying, Ron Craig's debut, Knitting with Daisy, is an emotional tribute to his mother and offers equal measures of good fortune and heartache, as well as joy and sorrow. Here is a truly American tale of survival and perseverance-it's a testament of one family's ability to weather the tough times and celebrate the genuinely sweeter moments. After escaping Hitler's Austria, Daisy made it to the United States with her family. Thinking she's found the man of her dreams, from here, she marries quickly, but her life is destined to be anything but quiet-or trouble-free. Her husband's mental illness destroys their marriage and leaves Daisy with four mouths to feed-the youngest just a few days old. Readers watch as Daisy's instincts kick in again and she moves forward with life fully focused on survival and raising the children who bring such happiness and light to her life. The eldest is a free-spirited biker hippie who never wanted the 1960s to end. He would later convert from Judaism to Christianity and try to push his family to do the same. The second son, the exact opposite, an overachiever who would know great business success at a very young age and enjoy celebrity friends, while Daisy's only daughter would struggle with great tragedy. It is the youngest son who pens this memoir; it's his perspective that captures it all. There are many successes to celebrate, though tragedies and an untimely death create dark chasms. Through it, Daisy, as well as her children, proves to be survivors of this crazy thing called life.