Book excerpt: This book will put a smile on your face if you grew up in a farm in the 1930s to 1960s. You will follow my ancestors as they lose the family farm during the Great Depression. You will watch them go from failure to success on many levels. I share my parents struggles as they moved away from my grandpas established 320-acre farm to start-up on a new 80-acre farm of their own. One section of the book shares five boys growing up in rural Southwest Iowa. Early on, I share some of my insecurities related to being around a controlling father and going to a small-town school in Fontanelle, Iowa. I share about being way out of my league in college. My parents knew nothing of higher education. In fact, I was being rebellious in just insisting on trying college. I skipped freshman orientation at UNI out of ignorance of what college life involved. I was drafted into the army one year after college. I knew very little of the politics at the time. I somehow ignored the countrys division over being in Vietnam. In the army, I learned how to obey orders quickly and that I wanted to be a civilian again as soon as possible. Following the war, I experienced many changes in my life. I found out about being committed to my wife, my family, and my newfound faith. I came a long way from my roots that started on that 80-acre family farm.