This is a funny, poignant, sad, true story of a large family of eight. It's full of adventure, a haunted home, comedic antics and a wonderful life-- until tragedy strikes in the placid valley of the Susquehanna Mountains. One of the six children is struck down by a drunk driver and the mother recounts the story through flashbacks in the ICU of the hospital, awaiting the fate of her child. The family embarks upon a journey to the other side of grief as they learn . . .To Weep, To Laugh, To Grieve, to Dance, as the whippoorwill sang.
This memoir opens with eloping teenagers, Micki and Butch, in a bizarre double ceremony with Micki's mother. the couple share wonderfully comical escapades spanning decades, until tragedy strikes.
There has been a terrible accident in the placid valley nestled in the Susquehanna Mountains in th etown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It occurs just blocks from the family's hunmdred year old haunted farmhouse, on a country lane.
Micki narrates happier days, using their delightfulpast to confront an uncertain future--as the family copes with fear and apprehension. Pne of her six children is fighting for her life in the hospital: in a semi-coma, hovering between this world and the next. The family embarls upon its unbearable journey to the other side of grief ans grasps the poignant gift of life as they begin . . .to weep to laugh to grieve to dance. . . And the Whippoorwill Sang
Excerpt
Butch bought a bright red canoe that summer. Since working out of State, we did more family things than when he’d worked in town. He tied the canoe to the top of the station wagon. I packed an ice chest of picnic food and blankets and off we headed to the Susquehanna River. The boys explored the woods while I dangled my feet off the small pier on the river bank. The girls, afraid of fish nibbling at their toes, passed on that. Butch managed to convince me to take a ride with him across the width of the river. I couldn’t swim and we had no life jackets. I climbed into the tippy canoe as he paddled across—the canoe rocking from side to side. The river whispered a serenity which belied its treacherous steep drops and swirling eddies. One trip was enough for me. Some experiences don’t warrant repeating.
Butch and the boys paddled all the way to the rapids near the bridge. I paced the riverbank watching for their safe return.
He then took the three younger girls out, but stayed close to the shoreline. Butch was calling out to those paddling, “stroke, stroke,” when Noelle decided she wanted to stand up.
“No,” her dad said. “You can’t stand up in a canoe.”
“Yes, I can. Watch me.” Noelle said.
I stood on the pier, horrified, watching as the canoe capsized and they all went under. All I could see was splashing around the overturned canoe—and then a small figure literally “walking on water” as fast as her legs could carry her to shore. I only knew of one other being that walked on water, but that day, I swear that Nicole was upright all the way till she reached land.
Kelly and Noelle insisted they could climb back into the canoe that Butch had righted.
“You’ll never be able to climb back into a canoe from deep water,” he told them.
Noelle felt a fish brush her backside. Then Kelly felt something touch her legs.They both screamed and launched themselves back into the canoe. The biggest calamity of the day, besides aging me ten years, was the loss of Noelle’s cool new sunglasses.
“Wanna take another ride with me?” Butch asked.
Professional Reviews
. . . AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG
For those of you who could never
imagine having to say good-bye to a
special loved one, especially a
precious young child, take the time to
read And the Whippoorwill Sang.
Prepare yourself to laugh hysterically
one moment, to yourself or even out-
loud, and then sink into your seat with
consolation as you embark upon a
twenty-two year journey through the
lives of Micki and Butch, as seen
through Micki’s eyes.
There are two journals intertwined within the pages of . . .And the Whippoorwill Sang; one that spans two
decades of the couple’s trials and triumphs clearly chronicled by historic date, and another that spans a shorter,
ten-day journey that, had you personally been there, and you feel you are as you read on, would seem to last an
eternity.
I encourage you to get your copy and find a quiet place to absorb Micki’s personal true-life memories, the
memories which urge us to Weep, to Laugh, to Grieve, to Dance.
John M. Evans
National Victim Services Training Manager
Mothers Against Drunk Driving - MADD
Please support the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Read about the campaign at www.madd.org.
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AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG
. . .All too often it takes me forever to get to your chapters, but when I do they are usually so delicious that I gobble them like Godiva chocolates and am sorry there's not more and more. The present pages are no exception -- lively, engrossing, and very poignant. --Bonnie Golightly, NonFiction Writer, novelist, screenwriter, Instructor, Writers Digest Writers School
A MOTHER'S STORY OF LIFE
While reading this book, I contacted the author via instant message and noted how struck I was by her extraordinary recall of detail, faithfully and interesingly fashioned into this very readable tale of one family's struggle to live life well. And as the author conveys so realistically, it's seldom easy. The second standout feature of this book is the author's effective use of periodic flashback that dramatically places the reader at the bedside of her beloved daughter Noelle who had been struck by a drunk driver and critically injured.
This is a story written by a devoted, loving mom and, unhappily as it happens, a bereaved parent. Read this heart-warming story with a cozy blanket and cup of tea. You'll soon discover how well and profitably you've spent your time.
An excellent story line the enthralls the reader. I could barely put it down. Quiet a page-turner.
The story starts out with teenagers, Butch and Micki, eloping and their quickly growing family. Ending up young and with six children the story evolves. The wonderfully detailed character's descriptions of each child paints a vivid image in the reader's mind of each child.
the book continues following the family's ups and downs and the numerous long distance moves that they embark on.
This memoir covers their life's as described through many years of memories of their marriage and the children as provided by Micki Peluso through flashbacks. The novel shares the good and bad times reflecting a very good and bad marriage with numerous ups and downs including the children...until tragedy strikes and one of the children is hospitalized and in a coma. The family comes together immediately to support one another.
'And The Whippoorwill Sang' is a fabulous book that offers the reader a romance novel, a crime drama novel, a life story novel and an attribute on children novel. This book gives us love, hate, romance, crime, heartbreak, frustration, young love, marital struggles, a haunted house and more. There is drama, comedy, tragedy, but mostly...love!
Micki Peluso has an unique writing style that draws the reader in and holds them captive, I couldn't put the book down, reading straight through. You can't go wrong with this one. I highly recommend you pick this one up. A marvelously, well-written book that should be on the top of your list. Micki Peluso has me hooked! I can't wait to read additional works by her. A super thumbs-up.
Reviewed by Lisa Dorsey
1/21/2018
A wonderfully written heart wrenching story of loss. Loved how the author wove their past into the story.
Reviewed by Laura H.
1/12/2018
This author truly has a gift for storytelling and obviously a remarkable penchant for putting that story to paper with ease. This family's story is one that should not be forgotten and lessons to be learned for all throughout.
I am not usually a fan of writings where there are flashbacks but that format is the only way this story would have emerged as wonderfully as it has. They help the reader become invested in the entire family by understanding who everyone is and their personalities and how they grew into the people they are.
This book follows the Peluso family through the reality of feminism, abuse, poverty, expectations, and death--the good and the not so good.
Any one who has been faced with a tragedy has had their life flash before them but this author writes about it very eloquently. She has a writing style that has the reader examining their own lives.
A slow-methodical timeline has the reader feeling as though they know this family intimately and can visualize everything.
For any parent that has had to sit by the bedside of your child during an illness or accident, this book has put into words some of the emotional upheaval you may have gone through.
Be prepared to spend a few hours digesting this heart wrenching story. Thank you for your courage in sharing your story with the world. This is an edition every family should have in their private library- great resource.
Reviewed by Heidi Strawser
1/11/2018
I really enjoyed this book. I felt as though I was reading Ms. Peluso's personal diary, in which she shared glimpses of her life from the time of her marriage through an awful loss for their family.
The thing that struck me most about this book was that is was a true-life tale that didn't hold back from raw honesty. The Peluso family is far from perfect (just like every other family) and Micki represented them in all their faults and failures, which made them all the more relatable and lovable.
Through reading this book, I felt like I knew this family, like I grew up with them. I suffered through the loss of their daughter due to a drunk driver. My heart broke as a mother when I read the heart-wrenching hospital scenes that were scattered throughout the storyline.
As I have grown older, my book tastes have changed and I find myself much more drawn to real life, rather than fiction. "As the Whippoorwill Sang" is as real as it gets. I'd highly encourage reading it.
I was so touched by this book. The author did a masterful job taking me on a journey through the history of her family interweaving the hard times with the light times. She does this while also describing her heartbreak facing a position no parent wants to ever be in with the coming loss of one of her children whose youth is torn away due to a strangers selfish decision. She keeps her promise to her daughter that her name will not be forgotten and that others will know her more as she lived than how she died. It's a book that I believe showcases more than any other book I have read on the full impact such a loss is on a family and I believe it should be a recommended read to any recovering alcoholic involved in a dwi incident, I think this book is also a testament to how a family goes on after the loss of a loved one and how the loved one can "stick around " to care for their family.
Ultimately, there is nothing really I can say as a criticism of this book. the only thing I had a hard time with was remembering the birth order of her children which is a very minor thing. I admire the author's strength and courage in writing this memoir and wish her family the best in everything.
Martha, this is a late thank you for a lovely review--I think my favorite of all my reviews, because you saw past and into things others missed. It wasn't crucial to the book but I like the fact that you could read between the lines. Author's Den has me locked out of the comment section and keeps saying my password is wrong and then gives me a new one exactly the same. So today I found a way to slip around them and get through.
This book is truly hard to put down! Micki Peluso's memoir "And The Whippoorwill Sang" is a true tale about two people very much in love, often struggling but at heart loving every minute of it to raise a large family. Sometimes there is desperation and grief when children fall ill or tragedy hits the family, and there is frustration when the day-to-day struggles of parenthood exhaust both parents, but largely, the book is filled with absolutely hilarious tales of their family life. Be prepared to laugh out loud and tear up at other times!
The story unfolds in flashback format, beginning in 1981 in the hospital when their beautiful 14 year old daughter, Noelle, is fighting for her life after being hit as a pedestrian by a drunken driver. The story of Noelle's final days in the hospital and Micki's struggle to be the loving mother that she is until the very end of her child's life, briefly interweaves throughout the book in intermittent short chapters. The flashback and family story begins with the eloping of Micki and her handsome husband Butch in 1959 and moves slowly, tale by tale, up to and past the time of Noelle's death.
I read this book during the week of a major surgery of a close relative in my own family and it helped me so much. When I first started the book, I thought that perhaps I should have waited to another time to read it and that it was going to be stressful, because it is ultimately about the tragedy of her daughter Noelle. But, as I read Micki's memories of motherhood and the many beautiful, sometimes worrisome but mostly totally humorous experiences of raising her beautiful and large family, I was able to also reflect upon my own parenthood days and the lives of my own children. Micki writes with such genuine feeling and humor about her own experiences that she allows the reader to have the space to relax and relate their own life when they felt the same way. It was for me de-stressing, meditative, and enjoyable to read.
This book is not just about family and parenthood, not even just about grief of a mother and the tragedy of a beautiful child being killed by a drunken driver and the need for tougher laws to deter such recklessness, but more profoundly it is about the eternity of the soul. Micki reveals many experiences throughout the book that she and the rest of the family have with spirits of people who have passed on and she shares this same communication and understanding of eternity about her own daughter who has passed on. It is in that way, a book with the universal theme of hope and this feeling of hope is left in the hearts of the readers. I highly recommend this extremely well written, 5 star book.
I think this is a book to treasure, for it has the memories of all your family members. To be living in a haunted house just added so much more adventure to the true story. Hope your little angel is watching over you now.
Wishing you great success with the sale of this book!
About the clients and escorts who once were part of Professional Escorts of Marin County, California. The timeframe was from 1974 until 1990.
You will enjoy the easy to read book that gives a glimpse into escorting. Enjoy the read.
Join me as we travel together on the road called "Aging." I will be sharing my personal experiences with you and offer ideas on how we can better navigate the complex byways of our older years. Grief, healing, generations, ancestors, and more.
Rosetta was born in 1909 as the youngest of ten children. The family had more laughter than money and neighbors would knock on their door to ask, "Can we come in and laugh, too?"
