It's All Relative

I was very excited to see Wade Rouse's recent memoir, It's All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine. His last memoir, At Least Someone in the City Would Hear Me Scream, was a humorous account of his and his partner Gary's move to rural Michigan in search of the simple life. In this latest memoir, Wade recounts the various holidays of his childhood and adulthood. The obvious holidays are covered: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. But also included are Memorial Day, Arbor Day, and Chinese New Year. Arbor Day? I had completely forgotten about Arbor Day. I was expecting another compilation of humorous essays, and for the most part, that's what this is, but then Rouse sucker-punched me with stories of visiting his grandmother in the nursing home and having to put a dog to sleep, that left me sobbing. I haven't read any of Rouse's other works besides these two, but I think this collection shows his talent as a writer. He can deliver a biting, snarky, laugh-out-loud story in one chapter, and the next, a heartfelt, touching tale that brings a reader to tears. I frequently compare him to David Sedaris, although Rouse's biting humor is a little less subtle. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and look forward to his next.