You West Virginia girls are one tough breed," he said. You got that right," I told him.

She was developing what Mom called a bit of a sarcastic streak.

Memoir is about handing over you life to someone and saying, This is what I went through, this is who I am, and maybe you can learn something from it.

She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people.

No one expected you to amount to much," she told me. "Lori was the smart one, Maureen the pretty one, and Brian the brave one. You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard.

If you want to be treated like a mother, act like one.

Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.