John's book threw me for a bit of a loop. I wanted to file it away in the brain cabinet reference drawer titled "Biography", but it would not quite fit. I tried the "Documentary" drawer, but there also failed. I finally found a nice fit in the drawer titled "Take Me Home". I found "By His Own Blood" to be a warm, funny, enlighting connection to the outlet that powers the family machine. John's account of growing up on a farm in Texas, in a loving hard working family enviorment sparked up many memories of my own family experiences. I came to realize that many things he talks about, especially the morals, life lessons, and core family values, is a vein of gold running through the American family ideal shared by not just his family, but most every family. These things are what help families hold it together when the road gets rough, or when a downright tragedy strikes. His book reminded me that families are a lot more about life than death.