“Would you like to have Santa come down your filthy chimney?” That was the heading on a flyer I made for my company “The Flue Bug Chimney Sweep” in 1982.  It became the thought that prompted my writing of The Climbing Boy.                    

      As tedious as writing, re-writing and self-editing may be I found these to be the simple, the fun, the enjoyable parts of writing.

      In 1984, after finishing the rewriting and self-editing, I began the task of finding an agent or a publisher for "The Climbing Boy"  and The Writer’s Market became my bible

      After hundreds upon hundreds of queries, each including a "SASE", a  self -addressed, stamped envelope (this was before my time with computers), and after receiving hundreds upon hundreds of rejections, I discovered the Catch-22 of the publishing industry: agents will not look at a new writer unless he/she has been published, and publishers will not look at a new writer unless he/she has an agent.

      But I had discovered that writing had become a very enjoyable and important part of my life. So as I continued to look for an agent or a publisher for The Climbing Boy, in 1986 I began Captain Midnight and the Toothpaste Thief, which I later renamed Becoming.

      Lo and behold, after twenty-two years of trying and never giving up The Climbing Boy  was published in 2004. Four years later, Becoming was published and two years afterwards, For Better or Worse was published in 2010. 
 

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                                                           Professional Review
                                                  Becoming
                                  A professional review of BECOMING, 
                                    by Willow, of Working Girl Reviews

“Do you remember your radio and “Captain Midnight,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Junior Miss” and “Let’s Pretend”? The first time you inhaled a cigarette? Your first swallow of hard liquor? The thrill of the first exploration of the body of your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife… your own body? Your first orgasm? Remember when as a people we loved America, and showed it? Then you might be ready for a nostalgic, funny, romantic, sexually frustrating novel. A novel that may remind many of us of ourselves, “way back then,” when God’s most mysterious creation was the opposite sex. A novel about life and the often funny, sometimes sad, day-to-day things that stir the memories of our lives…”

THE ABOVE IS A QUOTE FROM THE BLURB for Mark Lichterman’s Becoming and I put it there because it so aptly describes the novel. When I decided to review this book, I was worried because number one, I rarely have time to sit down and read a book as long as this one and two, because I stupidly felt I’d never be able to connect with anything in it. I’m female, Christian, grew up in the country, and the time period was before my time. I was wrong, wrong, wrong! The subject matter is timeless, the characters so genuine they jump from the pages and into your heart, and being the mother of boys—I could even relate to the male point of view.

The story begins in 1939 on Chicago’s west side and follows five-year-old Mitchie for the next seventeen years of his life. A true coming of age story told in graphic detail. And the humor—did I mention the humor? I found myself laughing out loud many times. I especially loved when the humor came at a time when it was totally unexpected, the way it is in ‘real life’. I can’t say all I’d like to say about the book because it needs to be experienced first hand and I don’t want to spoil that experience for the reader by saying too much.

Mr. Lichterman is a talented storyteller with a beautifully unique writing style and strong voice. His characters are delightfully flawed, giving them an unsurpassed charm and authentic quality. Becoming transcends all gender, ethnic, and geographical backgrounds, so no matter where you’re coming from, if you love truly great coming of age stories, give this one a try.

My one complaint is I felt the book ended too soon. Yes, even at 736 pages, I was sad when reading that last page and know these characters will be with me for a long time. – Willow 

 

                                               My reviews for Becoming