Catherine Sevenau is a writer, humorist, and storyteller living in Sonoma, California. The stories in this series are excerpts from her book, Through Any Given Door, a Family Memoir. The full memoir is available as a web series at Sevenau.com. A longtime Realtor and Owner/Broker at CENTURY 21 Wine Country, she can be reached at [email protected]
A higher power
Chapter 53: 1949 • Sonora ~ Our parents never argued about how to raise their children. They argued about Mother’s smoking and... Continue
Dad raced a burro, placed fourth
Chapter 52: May, 1949 • Diary of my brother (age 15): May 8 Sunday: Mother’s Day, rained a little and had a rainbow.... Continue
‘Again, again, swing me again!’
Chapter 51: Apr 1949 • Diary of my brother, Larry (age 15): Apr 22 Freshman picked weeds at school. Am now reading book called... Continue
My brother’s diary
Chapter 50: Sonora, California. April 1949 • Larry’s diary (age 15) Apr 1 Freshmen’s return was given, but it was so bad... Continue
Like life, it’s complicated
Chapter 49: 1948/49 • Sonora ~ Just three months after my arrival, my mother—along with losing her mind—lost her brother, Gordon... Continue
No wonder I wonder how I got here
Chapter 48: August 16, 1948 • Sonora ~ I was welcomed into the family two years after Mom’s first breakdown, though not by her.... Continue
1948 was not an easy year…
Chapter 47: 1948 • Sonora My brother did not keep a diary for much of 1948; between April 2 and December 31 there are only six entries.... Continue
Bought a spider
Chapter 46: 1948 • Sonora Note: my brother did not keep a diary for much of 1948. Many entries were typical posts about Boy Scouts,... Continue
France getting rid of communists
Chapter 45: 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) — Dec 1 Bought Daisy air pistol. It is 117 caliber and shoots small sized BB’s. Dec... Continue
Saw Carleen stark naked (HA HA)…
Chapter 44: 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) Nov 1 Very busy washing windows today. All windows in town were done before noon hour. Nov... Continue
