Lynne Cheney’s new book, Blue Skies, Open Fences is a delightful ode to America – it is about good people in a great country.
But it’s great not just because it recalls a more innocent day and tells some entertaining stories. It’s terrific because it’s so honest. It tells tough tales of Western frontiersmen in the Vincent family. She writes about real life. There are tales of misery and bourboun and religious bigotry. Her family isn’t perfect. Dick even makes mistakes (why I never…)!
In fact, for all the optimism in the book – and some of the best parts are when she talks about the “no fences” in women’s way and the confidence she and her friends had – my favorite part may have been the last, short chapter when she talks about her parents in a beautiful, touching way; you feel the pain of a daughter who misses her parents. It’s a longing time never really heals, even if it is an inevitable part of our lives.
In Myrna Blyth’s review of Mrs. Cheney’s book, Myrna said that although she grew up in Long Island, while Lynne Vincent hails from Wyoming, the book still brought back memories for Myrna. I’m a Manhattanite, of another generation, but I loved it just as much. Blue Skies, Open Fences is about American life – with all it’s joy and sadness, innocence and changes.
Oh, and yes: Cheney for president!