Title: Our Yard on 2625 East Cedar Avenue and Other Stories and Poems
Author: Trish Schreiber
Publisher: Toplink Publishing
ISBN: 978-1490760841
Pages: 168
Genre: Biography
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert
Pacific Book Review
Chronicling an evocative and personal look at her past and present with the people, places and events which shaped her life, Trish Schreiber’s Our Yard on 2625 East Cedar Avenue and Other Stories and Poems, takes readers on an excursion through time. With this creative offering she commemorates her journey through life with a compilation of vignettes, letters and poems. Albeit, this personable portrayal of her life, marks her entry into the literary world, she is not a stranger to it as she is related to lauded author, Willa Cather.
One of five children, Mrs. Schreiber was born into a wealthy, happy, two parent household. She grew up comfortable and privileged in Denver, Colorado during the 1950s and came of age during the conflicted 1960s. Overall, the book is a reflection of a variety of episodes of her life experiences and their impact on her. She looks back with fondness, clarity and insight, as she revisits particular memories of her comfortable childhood, covering topics like; sharing a room with her sister, family dinners, learning to drive, and her father’s endearing feats of magic. She also explores the pivotal moments with her ventures into adulthood, as she describes life affecting elements such as; wealth, college life, the anti-war movement, marriage, and becoming a mother. Within each vignette, she explores moments of her past with both sincerity and candor; unabashed about venturing into some of her darkest thoughts and fears. Although she portrays several intriguing experiences, I found the stories of her accomplishments as an exercise instructor, as well as her brush with fame on The David Letterman Show, and experience with possession of antique letters belonging to family member Willa Cather, to stand out. Additionally, as an interesting twist, she also includes in the book, a collection of her Christmas letters and poems which gave a more intimate view of her love of her family and their life together, as well as the poems which were especially creative and entertaining to read.
I enjoyed, Our Yard on 2625 Cedar Avenue and Other Stories and Poems, as it turned out to be fairly entertaining, easily readable and well written. However, it could have been a more engaging read with the inclusion of photos and more anecdotes, as opposed to the included Christmas letters and poems. Although interesting to read, there were too many of them, which somewhat detracted from the book’s readability. Contentions aside, this book would make a very good read for those interested in biographies.
