New Review for . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang

And the Whippoorwill Sang


By Micki Peluso


Much like the whippoorwill’s song, Peluso’s memoir conveys tales from

a life that has known both joy and sorrow. It alternates between two

timelines: in the first one, we sit with Peluso at her dying child's

bedside in 1981; in the second, we visit past memories and happier

times. Starting in her late teens, Peluso recounts her married years

with her high school sweetheart, Butch, as they move from one home to

another, welcoming and raising six children along the way. Although

times are frequently tough (and at times downright tragic), the tone

of the work is mostly light-hearted. The reader will find themselves

chuckling at the antics of Peluso’s kids, as well as her domestic

misadventures involving disobedient dogs, a house plagued by

paranormal activity, and cross-country road-trips taken with her

family of eight. The story comes full circle when Peluso reveals the

tragedy that marks the memoir’s beginning. By turns saddening and

laugh-out-loud funny, And the Whippoorwill Sang is definitely one to

check out.


reviewer: Liz Win