The Unexpected Gift of a Lifetime: An Exclusive Guest Post From Wright Thompson, Author of Pappyland, Our June Nonfiction Pick
Hardcover $27.00
Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last
Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last
Hardcover $27.00
You hardly need to be an expert in whiskey to fall in love with Julian Van Winkle and the wild and woolly world of Kentucky whiskey. But if you do like whiskey, it’s perfect. A soulfully written tale of family and authenticity; this story of fathers and sons, regional history and identity covers some deep territory, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Keep reading to find out from Wright Thompson about how the process of writing this book brought an unexpected gift.
You hardly need to be an expert in whiskey to fall in love with Julian Van Winkle and the wild and woolly world of Kentucky whiskey. But if you do like whiskey, it’s perfect. A soulfully written tale of family and authenticity; this story of fathers and sons, regional history and identity covers some deep territory, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Keep reading to find out from Wright Thompson about how the process of writing this book brought an unexpected gift.
Pappyland is a story about whiskey, inheritance and home — or, as my wife has come to call it: Eat, Pray, Love for dads. Fatherhood is the most poignant through line of the book to me, as Julian Van Winkle and I talk about his father and grandfather, Pappy himself, and I think back to my relationship with my own dad, which was cut so short. He never got to read this story or meet his grandchildren or see a book written by his son make the New York Times bestseller list.
The experience of creating Pappyland, and then seeing how deeply it resonated with people — fathers and children especially — has been the unexpected gift of a lifetime. It makes me get my father back, in a strange way, and I hope that reading it will allow you commune with people you’ve lost, and appreciate the people you’re still lucky enough to have, and try to grapple with your own inheritances — the things we are handed from the past to carry into the future, whether that’s whiskey or family or home. I’m grateful you’re considering reading this book, and I hope you find pieces of your own experience inside.
