Cynthia Claus

Ice Cream & Pretzels and Other Stories Cynthia Claus

In a series of candid vignettes and one poem, Cynthia takes us into her family of origin to revisit her physician parents, whose lives were impacted in unexpected, far-reaching ways by her father's service in World War II, and into her life with them and her two younger sisters, covering several decades. We meet grandparents, lifelong friends, and mother substitutes. Dark family secrets are revealed. Questions are raised. Other tales explore Cynthia's work history in such divergent places as her father's medical office and a seminary. We are with her during the dissolution of two marriages and a nostalgic look back at a high school romance. Always honest, Cynthia tells it like it was-the good, the bad, and the very bad-with feeling and understanding, and eventually forgiveness.