Publisher's Synopsis
Destined to become a baby boomer classic! This TRUE memoir takes place in Portland, Oregon, 1968, and spans the month of December as Christmas draws near. A coming of age story in a dysfunctionally functional family. A widower with five children and his spinster sister roll with the punches as best they can, offering crazy anecdotes, twists, humorous and sentimental surprises and an unexpected ending that actually happened during a rare and unforgettable snowstorm. There were 76 million births in the United States from 1946 to 1964, inclusive, the 19 years called the "Baby boom." Of the 76 million born, there are some 72 million survivors. The baby boomer generation is the largest group of consumers in the U.S., seeking product that caters to their thirst for nostalgia. Christmas On The Move Out West is a wacky holiday story loaded with references baby boomers will appreciate, including: Catholic school, paper routes, cardboard sledding, popular games and foods of the late 60's. Today, in times of financial crisis, fear and broken families, simple stories of 'days gone by' comfort wide audiences. This memoir will remind you of It's a Wonderful Life by Frank Capra or the 1983 made-for-TV "boomer" movie, A Christmas Story, based on short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes by Jean Sheperd. Others claim this novella makes them think of Richard Evans' The Christmas Box. Christmas On The Move Out West is self-published through Amazon.com and Createspace (February 2012). This 21,000 word, 122 page novella is available on Amazon.com and other online stores, and can be found in bookstores in Paris, France and cities throughout Washington and Oregon. More than 800 copies have been purchased in it's first year of publication. The author, Matthew Gonder is currently writing a second memoir that begins where Christmas On the Move Out West leaves off.
