As the holiday
season approaches, those looking for something to cheer them and put them in a nostalgic holiday mood might turn to my critically acclaimed childhood memoir Christmas at Long Lake. Set on Christmas Eve and Christmas day 1953 in St. Louis and nearby rural Illinois, it depicts a six-year-old boy, a family and a culture on the brink of a loss of innocence and independence. You can read an excerpt here.
By the way, the book was recently being read in southern Illinois middle school and high school literature classes, that is to say it’s a suitable gift for people of all ages. It’s available at Amazon.com and other online sellers and, in St. Louis, at STL Books in Kirkwood.
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“Skwiot’s vivid descriptions of the physical and emotional landscape…are poignant, entertaining, and instructional… There is magic in this depiction of a setting and a way of life that can be described only as Edenic.”–Library Journal
“Rick Skwiot works his own magic… As usual, Skwiot’s writing is sure…And his tale has a gritty, blue-collar cachet…This is good reading.” –Kansas City Star