Making Lemonade Out of Everything

by J. Wayne Stillwell


Formats

Softcover
$16.95
E-Book
$3.99
Softcover
$16.95

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 4/22/2015

Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 186
ISBN : 9781504908054
Format : E-Book
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 186
ISBN : 9781504908061

About the Book

This book is a first-person account about growing up poor in small-town America. It is a diary of sorts, a memoir, about life as perceived by a fictional boy from a fictional family living in a fictional town. The chapters are compilations of similar experiences and venues about school, girls, family, living without money, and social challenges. “Making lemonade out of everything” is a figure of speech, a metaphor for how people make do with nothing. For example, integrating Chevy parts into a Ford; making a wheel barrel out of oak, nails, and a lawn mower wheel; feeding a family for under ten dollars a week; and entertaining yourself on a rainy Saturday playing with Mom’s clothespins and pie pans. The context for the story is introduced through third-party narration in chapters 1 and 2 and then transitions to a first-party account by a boy named William Seabold. Everyone called him Bill.


About the Author

J. Wayne Stillwell served for thirty-four years as a naval officer then completed a second career as vice president of an R&D company. He is currently an independent consultant and fiction writer. He received his BS in electrical engineering from Purdue University, master’s degree in physics from the Naval Post-Graduate School and completed the executive development program at Carnegie Mellon University. His science fiction series Xetonian Trades; first romance novel, Ten Months; and a short human interest story titled, Bus 22, were published by AuthorHouse in 2013. Xetonian Trades IV: Infinity’s Gate was published in 2014 and “Invisible Contact” in 2015. In this book, the author takes a compilation of character development vignettes from his previous books and builds a story about growing up poor in small-town America. He and his spouse of forty-eight years, Bernadette, have two sons, John and Matthew, and four grandchildren.