Blueberry Summers: Growing Up at the Lake [Hardcover]

"I would begin thinking about summer on our lake as early as Easter. Yes, it wasourlake, not justthelake."

In this classic story of a midwestern boyhood, Curtiss Anderson takes readers into the colorful lives of his robust Norwegian family and their wonderfully familiar summerscape in northern Minnesota: the lake place. Sweet childhood reminiscences comprise this coming-of-age memoir set in the poignant summers of the 1930s and '40s. Conversations on the porch with Dear Old Aunt Ingabord, a heavily accented relative from the Old Country. A budding romance and heartbreak with young Sarah, who lived across the lake. Wild blueberry picking behind Turnaround Island. Joyful tales devoted to cherished dogs he had outlived–old Shep and Mickey, Nebby, and feisty Bunny. And fond memories of Clara and Leigh, the loving couple who treated the budding writer as if he was their own child.

Anderson revisits the notes and letters he scripted as a boy, originally recorded on his hand-me-down Underwood typewriter–his first foray into what would become a distinguished publishing career–to offerBlueberry Summers. Here, the nationally recognized magazine editor offers a funny and warm story of experiences that inspire the imagination.

Curtiss Anderson

is a writer and editorial consultant. He has enjoyed an illustrious career with Hearst Magazines andBetter Homes and Gardensand as editor in chief ofLadies Home Journal. He lives in Tiburon,
California, with his wife, Anne.


From theWall Street Journal,Coming of Age at Lakeside,
By ALLAN CARLSON
June 7, 2008

My summers have almost always meant a trip to Minnesota lakes: for my first 15 years, to Leech Lake; for the 40-plus since, to Lake of the Woods or the Boundary Waters canoe country. The landscape is on the edge of the Canadian Shield, defined by rough granite outcrops, birch and pine trees, bogs, and lakló: