In the Shadow of Sacrifice

Excerpted from a ForeWord Review by Cheryl Hibbard:

With both admirable insight and delightful charm, Calhoun exhibits a sharp eye for detail and a keen sense of humor.
Some of his stories are thought provoking, and others are comical, but they all come together as a wonderfully rounded self-portrait.”

“The author was born into poverty, "the ninth child of a mother who birthed eleven" between the 1940s and the 1960s. Some of his comments about the family's circumstances are laugh-out-loud funny, yet he does not ridicule; he shares his stories with great love and respect. The peanut butter “or” jelly sandwich tale is particularly inspired. Watching the wheels spin in young Calhoun's mind as he philosophizes about his sandwich and devises a solution to the either or dilemma is funny, fascinating, and revealing.

Whether speaking of fame (an "environment of values based on delusional and illusionary factors") or the government ("The expectation that those...who write and enforce policies are always on the up and up, fair, and will play by the rules has been purged from my thinking"), Calhoun says what he thinks and gives his reasons. He deserves credit for his upbeat attitude and enjoyable presentation, and his observations are reliably astute. This is an honest, heartfelt book with ideas to ponder and great stories sure to elicit a smile. In the Shadow of Sacrifice is a labor of love.