Book Read Free
May 2011

"'The Shining' – but funnier."

That's how the author describes his memoir Thirty Rooms To Hide In: Insanity, Addiction, and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic. On one hand it's the story of how his father went from being a famous orthopedic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic to lying dead on the floor of a motelroom in Georgia, with a broken ashtray under his head. On the other, it's about how the family of six boys had a wildly fun, thoroughly dysfunctional time growing up in the doctor’s big house in the '50s and '60s. With the Beatles as true north on their compass of Cool, they create a dark humor, film movies, start a rock & roll band, and wise-crack their way though a grim landscape of their father's insanity, Eisenhower's Cold War, fallout shelters, and JFK's assassination.

The family’s photos, movies, and letters can be seen at ThirtyRoomsToHideIn.com.