A Jump in the River: A Memoir

by Clayton C. Hoskins

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888683244
• ISBN13: 9781888683240
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Wooster Book Co
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

My Father's Book

My father Clayton Hoskins emersed himself in writing this book, his memoir, shortly after he was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1999/2000. He was an attorney in Columbus, Ohio, and my early and constant memories of him regard his love of words, language and writing. He smoked cigarettes when I was a very young child, and later turned to cigars and pipes, and would spend part of Sunday afternoon in a hazy family room doing the NYTimes crossword. I remember growing up with the smell of stale pipe tobacco, and when I got older he'd ask me crossword clues. His love of writing took him into a second career following his retirement. As a golf writer he specialized in short, humorous pieces. He started out writing during the 1990's for a local publication called "The Ohio Golfer," and then started writing for a British golf magazine "Today's Golfer," for which he wrote a monthly column titled "Letter from America." As he became older and following his diagnosis, he became more introspective and turned his writing focus on analysis and presentation of his life and times. When my father was three years old, in 1927, his father was sitting on the banks of the Philo River on a Sunday afternoon enjoying a picnic with his wife and son. Suddenly out in the middle of the river a young teenage girl began to struggle and cry for help. My grandfather jumped in the river and drown. My Dad tries to make sense of this event by analyzing its impact on his life. His writing is direct, focused, vivid. He said he wanted just enough words to let the reader form his or her own pictures. He does it and then some in this his picture of his life. Jim Hoskins April 18, 2009