Book excerpt: My book is about everything that I know about my family, both about my mother’s and father’s side of the family in addition to my interactions towards or with each of them. I was inspired by a late great maternal uncle to pursue such a project. First, I re-collected everything that I could about various family members. It was simply a matter of thinking about what I know and what I could jot down on paper in the comfortable setting of my home or automobiles. I conducted a vast number of interviews from members of each side of the family. This was after I organized a family tree and decided to proceed from that. Those interviews led me to further interviews. Wherever and whenever I could, I got many telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Sometimes, I researched the Internet when given information about their affiliations or personal pursuits. I utilized other sources in addition to interviews. Some sources included obituaries, books, magazines, newspaper articles, and just plain statistics regarding whatever endeavors they had, such as with my only child. Pursuing this type of manuscript required hard work, devotion, and perseverance. This book serves as an encouragement to others to do family research and record whatever they find. One should only seek the positive and sidestep the negative. One derives a great deal of joy and satisfaction from engaging in such a project. This work is a reflection of you and how you see things in the lenses of your life. I hope that many who read this book take it upon themselves to do the same as I have done. Doing this work was truly a joy and a blessing.