Hello everyone, happy Monday! I hope everyone had a good Easter (to those who celebrate!) Today I’m going to be reviewing Dan Marshall’s memoir Home is Burning.

I knew going into this book it would be sad. I prepared myself to be sad. Throughout the book I laughed because that’s the type of writer Marshall is. I was not prepared for the ending. I cried like I’ve never cried before. This was definitely very opening to ALS.

Home is Burning by: Dan Marshall: When his mom was diagnosed with cancer when he was a kid, Dan always thought it was his mother to go first, but when his father gets diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease his, and his family’s lives takes a total 180. This memoir dives deep into Dan Marshall’s family and everything they went through from the moment his father was diagnosed to the end. This was a hell of an emotional rollercoaster but Marshall’s writing is what keeps this book from being a sad story. In fact, the reader almost needs to have certain sense of humour to get behind some of the jokes and antidotes (as they relate to sex or dicks or both) as well as getting used to his crass way of talking; be warned there is a lot of swearing. At first it feels very off putting, especially if you’re not used to it, but once the reader has gotten to know the family it almost feels like a comfort. The way Marshall ordered his chapters so chronological made this journey very easy to follow along and read. This memoir was more than just Dan losing his father, it was also about finding himself and really connecting to the people who mean something to him and that is what the reader should really take away; the silly jokes are just an added benefit.