by Jeff Fister $13.95, 172 pages, soft cover But is there a lot of blood? Eight kids, four hens, a parakeet and too many squirrels to mention in a 111-year-old house in the Central West End supply an infinite amount of material for publisher Jeff Fister to reflect on in this collection of columns from the West End Word newspaper. From the joy of birth to the agony of teenagers slipping over to the ‘dark side’, Fister reveals the “secrets” of raising a lot of kids in a world of shrinking families. Fister parallels his experience in raising children with raising five hens, lessons that overlap more significantly than expected. Engaging, insightful and hilarious encounters with every day life are illustrated in anecdotes of trial, error and success. Ultimately, he says that raising a large family can be easier than raising a small one, and is in many ways a sign of optimism in a world of uncertainty. |