Growing up, I learned three things early: how to stay out of trouble (mostly), how to take a joke (even when I was the joke), and how to survive situations no kid should have to navigate with a straight face.

This book is a collection of stories from a childhood where discipline was creative, money was scarce, and laughter was often the only thing that kept everything from falling apart. School hallways, sickrooms, family rules, and hard lessons collide in moments that are equal parts absurd and unforgettable.

Told with humor that doesn't apologize and honesty that doesn't waver, these stories find comedy in the chaos and truth in the mess. Some moments will make you laugh out loud. Others might make you wince, then laugh anyway.

This isn't a feel-good story. It's a feel-real one. For anyone who grew up fast, learned sarcasm before self-confidence, and figured out early that humor is a survival skill, this book will feel like home.