The Bow Wow Chronicles: Growing Up in a Wild and Wonderful Family

"The Lucky Few" is a name provided by demographers to describe those born between 1929 and 1945. Is it true? Find out in "The Bow Wow Chronicles" a memoir by Linda Strnad Jensen, a girl who grew up with three rough and tumble brothers in Omaha in the 40s and 50s. The 282-page book (with family pictures) brings to life carefree moments with imaginative, and sometimes R-rated games, goofy school experiences, vacations with deer heads, fish, and wayward dogs. You'll also meet a civic-minded mother, who tries to rid the city of betting parlors, and a usually proper father, who demonstrates penny-pinching eccentricities. This strong narrative, filled with natural dialogue, also provides some memorable moments with a loving grandmother and a surrogate grandfather with a mysterious past. The book also promises serious moments, such as the befriending of immigrants from Europe following WWII, enduring McCarthyism and the Korean War, learning about racism through pen pals, and becoming aware of mass murder, as Charles Starkweather rampages across Nebraska. This memoir doubles as a walk down memory lane and a stimulating look at a unique time and place.

Linda Strnad Jensen is a freelance writer, who taught high school journalism, sponsored two nationally recognized student newspapers and served as president of the Nebraska High School Press Association. She and her husband reside in Bucks County, PA with her champion Shetland Sheepdog Brady and their cat Shenandoah. Jensen and her husband have two children and six grandchildren.