Stories Found in my Rearview Mirror

Book 7 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 2022 - 1/18

Stories Found in my Rearview Mirror

by Floyd Gardner

Summary (via the book jacket)

In this personal memoir, Gardner remembers Iowa in the 1940s and 1950s and relates those recollections. Sometimes funny - sometimes sad - but always heartwarming, the stories take older Iowans back to a time and place that causes them to pause and they, too, recall incidents from their past. For younger readers this book provides a look at Iowa's history, when it was a different place with different values. But the stories don't end in mid-twentieth century. Readers travel with Floyd into the 21st Century for a look at retirement as he and his wife travel the country in an RV.

My Opinion

3 stars

I chose this book from the "Iowa" section of the library as something my husband and I could read together.  Although most of his 'Iowa" stories are about his hometown of Ossian, I found out randomly through a friend's Facebook post that he currently lives in the same town we do.  He is still active and writing; I've seen his Facebook posts shared by multiple friends recently, especially speaking against our governor's current push for public funds for private school vouchers.

My husband grew up on a farm and even though he's much younger than the author, certain aspects of farm life remain the same (plus he works for John Deere) so he had a lot of familiarity with the stories.  The author also had many experiences not related to farm life as he was in the military and trying out different careers so we never knew what was coming next; he seems to have lived a million different lives in all his travels.

It was a good book to read together a few stories at a time and I'm sure this book is an absolute treasure for his family because of the memories he's shared.  Some of the stories may be a little too "I guess you had to be there" for a general audience but overall we really enjoyed winding through his life.