From the Author of Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story & FOCUS: A Memoir
As a young Mormon girl, Ingrid fantasized about her real family--the Osmonds --who would soon rescue her from the drudgery of daily home church sessions, embarrassing trips to the church welfare office and the explosive clashes between her intensely devout Mormon mother and absent, excommunicated dad.
In this collection of poignant, humorous and insightful stories, Ingrid takes readers into a childhood where caffeine is evil, Satan comes out at midnight, Native Americans are believed to be descendants of an ancient prophet, and turning eight--at least from her viewpoint--means a life marred by guilt and once-a-month starvation.
The stories follow Ingrid into her teenage years, when she accompanies her Austrian mother on a mental hospital rescue mission, battles her way through the humiliation of banned sex-ed classes and restricted dating, and escapes her religious home life by spending summers hustling tools with her freewheeling dad. Through her journey--which includes liquor-filled chocolate relationship building with her European grandmother and a disastrous stint as an East Coast nanny --Ingrid finds her voice, claims her own spiritual beliefs, and learns to embrace her parents for who they are.
In this collection of poignant, humorous and insightful stories, Ingrid takes readers into a childhood where caffeine is evil, Satan comes out at midnight, Native Americans are believed to be descendants of an ancient prophet, and turning eight--at least from her viewpoint--means a life marred by guilt and once-a-month starvation.
The stories follow Ingrid into her teenage years, when she accompanies her Austrian mother on a mental hospital rescue mission, battles her way through the humiliation of banned sex-ed classes and restricted dating, and escapes her religious home life by spending summers hustling tools with her freewheeling dad. Through her journey--which includes liquor-filled chocolate relationship building with her European grandmother and a disastrous stint as an East Coast nanny --Ingrid finds her voice, claims her own spiritual beliefs, and learns to embrace her parents for who they are.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A Little Book of Mormon (and Not So Mormon) Stories is a sincere delight for Mormons, non-Mormons, or anyone who has ever had parents."-CozyLittleBookJournal
"Everyone, Mormon or not, should read it. The book has a lot of warmth and truth, and we could all learn a little from her hard won wisdom"- Christina K. Ahn, Book Reviewer
"Ricks puts me in mind of Augusten Burroughs (one of my favorites) with how she takes childhood memories (many quite painful) and converts them to stories of humor and hope. So many of us have had dysfunctional families and have used those situations as an excuse for our dysfunction as adults. Ricks doesn't do that and you can see that she is using her life experiences to make herself a stronger, better person." - Kimberly K. Medley, Book Reviewer
"Everyone, Mormon or not, should read it. The book has a lot of warmth and truth, and we could all learn a little from her hard won wisdom"- Christina K. Ahn, Book Reviewer
"Ricks puts me in mind of Augusten Burroughs (one of my favorites) with how she takes childhood memories (many quite painful) and converts them to stories of humor and hope. So many of us have had dysfunctional families and have used those situations as an excuse for our dysfunction as adults. Ricks doesn't do that and you can see that she is using her life experiences to make herself a stronger, better person." - Kimberly K. Medley, Book Reviewer
From the Author
I've always been fascinated with life journeys and with how a person's childhood shapes them as an adult. This story collection reflects on my childhood and teenage years straddling life between an intensely devout Mormon mother from Austria, and a free-spirited dreamer of a dad.
It's about the struggles of child-parent relationships, about finding your own voice and belief system, and about learning to love and embrace family for who they are. Most of all, it's about realizing that spiritual, political and social beliefs are very personal, and that the key to peace and happiness is mutual respect and acceptance.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
The only fault with this collection of stories is that it was too short. Ricks puts me in mind of Augusten Burroughs (one of my favorites) with how she takes childhood memories (many quite painful) and converts them to stories of humor and hope. So many of us have had dysfunctional families and have used those situations as an excuse for our dysfunction as adults. Ricks doesn't do that and you can see that she is using her life experiences to make herself a stronger, better person. This book was also entertaining because my husband grew up in the Mormon faith, and he has relayed some very similar stories to me. I would recommend for a person that has never read anything by Ricks to start with this collection and then go on to read "Hippie Boy". She touches on the content of "Hippie Boy" in a few of these short stories, so if you read this collection first, it will give you a hint of what you'll read in "Hippie Boy" but won't ruin it for you.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I won this book from librarything member giveaways in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this little book. I had actually been interested in her other book "Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story," but did not realize until the end of this book that this was the same author. This collection of stories are autobiographical; she writes about snippets of her colorful life growing up with a strict Mormon family and all the difficulties she faced with having a mother from a different culture, a father who isn't as perfect as she hoped, and a stepfather who is mentioned, but is abusive (and I believe dominates her other book).
I was drawn in and captivated by this unusual life. The most important aspect in an autobiography is how real, true, and honest it is. Ingrid Hicks doesn't hold anything back. Everything painful and nightmarish in her past is stark and there for everyone to see on the written page. I was also moved by how she has grown from her experiences and has come to terms with the most awful of circumstances. I also felt personally moved as I have experienced (though not as dramatically) some of what she has experienced.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and everyone, Mormon or not, should read it. The book has a lot of warmth and truth, and we could all learn a little from her hard won wisdom.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this little book. I had actually been interested in her other book "Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story," but did not realize until the end of this book that this was the same author. This collection of stories are autobiographical; she writes about snippets of her colorful life growing up with a strict Mormon family and all the difficulties she faced with having a mother from a different culture, a father who isn't as perfect as she hoped, and a stepfather who is mentioned, but is abusive (and I believe dominates her other book).
I was drawn in and captivated by this unusual life. The most important aspect in an autobiography is how real, true, and honest it is. Ingrid Hicks doesn't hold anything back. Everything painful and nightmarish in her past is stark and there for everyone to see on the written page. I was also moved by how she has grown from her experiences and has come to terms with the most awful of circumstances. I also felt personally moved as I have experienced (though not as dramatically) some of what she has experienced.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and everyone, Mormon or not, should read it. The book has a lot of warmth and truth, and we could all learn a little from her hard won wisdom.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A. Harrell
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Enjoyed reading about Ingrid Ricks' life growing up Mormon, and glad she found her own agnostic voice as an adult. I liked how she brought to life the struggles of her mother's mom as a young woman being terrorized, and abused during the Nazi occupation. Book was well written...Looking forward to more stories from Ms. Ricks!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Story About Growing Up in the Mormon faith.
I wish this story was longer. The author's stories about growing up in the Mormon faith were entertaining and insightful. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Whitney Joy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Easy read
Cute memoir on authors life experiences being raised in a strict mormon home and finding her own path. Easy read.
Published 6 months ago by Tiffany Wolf
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Perspective
This was an interesting memoir. Stories well presented. Worth my time to read. It gave me a good perspective about Mormonism. Thank you for putting it out there.
Published 7 months ago by Michelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Delight from Ingrid Ricks
Anything Ingrid Ricks writes is a delight to read. She tells her stories of growing up in, and growing away from, a strict Mormon household with a compelling narrative flow and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Cranky Cuss
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mormon Stories
Not a good book at all as there were numerous spelling errors and the story was very boring. Would not suggest this book as it did not really keep my interest.
Published 10 months ago by sflor
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Little Book of Mormon and Not So Mormon Stories
This is an ok book. I was expecting better stories, perhaps some funny stories or life experiences. This books seems like a tale of just the one person and how he dealt with the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Grizzly
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed It
This was a collection of really good stories. I was very disappointed when I hit the 50% mark because I realized it was going to be over soon, and there hadn't been enough. Read more
Published 11 months ago by imjustasteph
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and inspiring
I loved Ingrid Ricks' book "Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story", a true account of her troubled life at home, and freer life on the road with her traveling salesman father. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alysa S.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
The title of this book, A Little Book of Mormon, immediately caught my attention. It's not too often that you find Kindle books about what it was like to grow up in the LDS... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Be Scared Off
Don't let the word "Mormon" in the title scare you off. This book is full of enjoyable little slice-of-life stories. If you had a family, if you had parents... Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Bird
More About the Author
Ingrid Ricks started her career as a journalist, spent fifteen years as a marketing/PR consultant and is now embracing her writing/mentoring dream full-time. She is the author of Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story, a coming-of-age memoir; FOCUS, a memoir about her journey with the blinding degenerative eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa; and A Little Book of Mormon (and Not So Mormon) Stories, a collection of short autobiographical stories.
Through her partnership with high school English teacher Marjie Bowker, Ingrid recently helped at-risk teens publish their personal stories in a powerful collection titled We Are Absolutely Not Okay: Fourteen Stories by Teenagers Who Are Picking Up the Pieces. That project has led to the launch of WeAreAbsolutelyNotOkay.org, a web site devoted to helping teens connect with other teens through personal storytelling.
Ingrid lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters. When not writing, working with students, or leading seminars focused on embracing the moment, she can be found accompanying her family to soccer games, ice hockey games, or the beach. She also enjoys hanging out at her neighborhood jazz club or alternating between her two favorite coffee shops. For more information, visit ingridricks.com.
Through her partnership with high school English teacher Marjie Bowker, Ingrid recently helped at-risk teens publish their personal stories in a powerful collection titled We Are Absolutely Not Okay: Fourteen Stories by Teenagers Who Are Picking Up the Pieces. That project has led to the launch of WeAreAbsolutelyNotOkay.org, a web site devoted to helping teens connect with other teens through personal storytelling.
Ingrid lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters. When not writing, working with students, or leading seminars focused on embracing the moment, she can be found accompanying her family to soccer games, ice hockey games, or the beach. She also enjoys hanging out at her neighborhood jazz club or alternating between her two favorite coffee shops. For more information, visit ingridricks.com.
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