Nobody Home by Jacqueline Masumian

This is one of those books that I picked up to start to read... and couldn't put down.  Nobody Home is a memoir written in a very personable style that invites the reader inside Ms. Masumian's life growing up with her divorced mother in rural Ohio.  There are strange events, such as her mother's over-the-top Easter gift of a pet lamb to her two youngest children, which then ends up having free run of the house during a dinner party, much to the amusement of the guests.  There are Christmases at her grandmother's which she calls "bedlam" with all the extended relatives.  There are awkward dinners with her distant father when he takes them out to eat at restaurants and can't help but tease the waitstaff, to the embarrassment of his children.

A collection of vignettes and reminisces seamlessly strung together into a cohesive narrative, this book kept me completely engaged, extending through Ms. Masumian's adult life and troubles with her aging parents' health while she undergoes her own personal difficulties.

It's not a long book - only 144 pages.  The one disappointment I had is that I would have liked to see more - more anecdotes of growing up on the banks of the Chagrin River, wandering through the woods, dealing with her mother's bouts of frantic depression and eclectic relatives.  More about her adult life and problems.  But despite dealing with some very serious issues, the book ends on both a wistful and hopeful note which left me wanting more.  I'll definitely look out for new work by Ms. Masumian in the future.