Willis Hilbert

Old Crow Willis Hilbert

Old Crow is a post-WWII story told through the eyes of a tender five year old boy. In between days filled with coon hunting with the hounds, swimming in the river, and egging the family hen house with his older brother were dark, terrifying nights. Arthur's father returned home from war, but he relived his anguish daily in his mind. Before PTSD was even recognized as such, Arthur's father self-medicated his undiagnosed terror with alcohol, then unleashed his own brand of violence and pain onto his wife and children. As such, the two dirty-faced, inseparable brothers found reprieve and temporary days of innocence at their grandparents' Oklahoma farm, The Duffy Place, where boys could be boys. The brothers' resilience combined with the bravery and love of their mother, who mitigated the daily violence with self-sacrifice, is nothing short of inspirational.

The author brilliantly captures his boyhood experiences in a memoir that is stunningly poignant, and yet somehow light-hearted and endearing as he preserves the charm of an innocent child making his own joy in between moments of darkness unlike anything most of us ever feel.