One thing which deeply influenced Dale Maharidge during his early youth was the behavior of his father with the rest of the family. Dale’s father served as a soldier during the World War and when he returned home from the war, he was not the same man anymore. Something within him changed. He was more aggressive in his response and was not afraid to show his more violent side. Steve used to beat his wife and abusive language was part of the daily routine.
Dale was really horrified by this attitude of his father and he used to wonder what happened to his father during the war. There was also a picture of his father with a close friend that was constantly hung on the wall. Dale’s father never talked about the man with anyone, still, he kept the picture on the wall. Dale started investigating the other man in the picture after the death of his father because he wanted to know more about his father and the man.
The author wanted to know the other side of his father’s personality that he never saw. After much searching Dale was able to find Mulligan i.e the other man in the picture. Dale also met other family members of Mulligan and he learned a lot of things that he failed to understand as a child.
Flying Lessons & Other Stories and American Like Me type of books are awesome for all ages but not this one. This book has some violent scenes and abusive language too which Dale has narrated in order to make it look more real so it is not recommended for the kids.