Customer Reviews

Cop's Kid: A Milwaukee Memoir

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Growing up in Milwaukee, with a Cop Dad of my own, I could totally relate with this book. Even though there are exactly 20 years between myself and the author, the similarities were amazing!

Author Mel C. Miskimen puts a hilarious spin on the life and times of having a Dad as a Police Officer. From bringing home trinkets of rock stars (in her case - The Beatles, in my case - the rock band Cinderella), to interrogating the boyfriends, this book had me cracking up! Each page delivers new humor on an old topic - Cop Dad's are strict rulers of the house, lawncare fanatics, and great big teddy bears.

In addition to the joys and perils of having a Cop Dad, Miskimen details Polish family life and growing up in 1960's Milwaukee. The holidays and trips to Busia's (Grandma's) house, family relations, and going to an "all girls" high school add delightful detail to an already entertaining book.

Once you pick this book up, good luck putting it down! With it's great, humorous writing style, I haven't read a book this enjoyable in a long time! It's like a cross between Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry.

Mel Miskimen's book is a hilarious walk down memory lane for anyone who grew up with a father who worked on the police force. My father was a police detective for a Milwaukee suburb from the `50s to the early `90s, and the parallels between her childhood and mine are incredible. From running the boyfriends through background checks, to the rules (no motorcycles, tattoos or long hair), to recording license plate numbers in the little brown book, I was laughing throughout as I recalled the very same experiences. Her book made it very clear police officers share a dominant work culture mentality that drives our heroic, yet over-protective dads.

This book is a funny and entertaining read for anyone, and a MUST read for those of us who are cops' kids!

Mel Miskimen's book "Cop's Kid" is wonderfully funny and entertaining. If you've been lucky enough to hear her voice on public radio -- it's all the better. Yet her voice does come through in her writing. The quirky cast of characters will make you laugh out loud and will stick in your memory.

What I enjoy most about Mel's writing is that all the while she's making fun of her relatives, and of herself -- she avoids the negative cynicism that's common to many humor writers. You get the feeling that Mel loves to be surrounded by the offbeat. At a time when our nation is more sensitive to the sacrifices of those who serve and protect, along comes this fresh, human point of view.

I highly recommend this book, not just for cop's and cop families-but for any one who needs a lot of good laughs with an underlying appreciation of how wonderful it is to live in a world full of weirdo's.