Notes on the Kitchen Table: Families Offer Messages of Hope for Generations to Come

"If you had to write a note--one note--and leave it propped against the sugar bowl on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note?"

This simple question appeared at the end of To Our Children's Children, a book that made writing a personal or family history as easy as writing a letter, and went on to become a contemporary classic.  

Notes on the Kitchen Table is a heartwarming collection of the answers that poured in to authors Bob Greene and his sister, D. G. Fulford, from all over the country.  They record the importance of kindness and hard work ("Keep your feet dry!"--Harold Meyer, Fargo, North Dakota), of spiritual belief and respect for nature, of honesty and integrity and lifelong learning ("Take time to sit and dream."--Dorothy O'Malley, Merrillville, Indiana).  They praise risk-taking and acknowledge adversity and imperfection ("If you can't be thankful for what you have, be thankful for what you've escaped."--Alma Maisel, Martinsburg, West Virginia).  They are words carried as tattered relics in wallets, or attached with reverence to refrigerator doors.

Rich with anecdotes and thumbnail profiles of many contributors, Notes on the Kitchen Table is a gift of love--plainspoken, generous, and resonant with the true meaning of family.

Bob Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune; his column appears in more than two hundred newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Japan.  For nine years, his "American Beat" was the lead column in Esquire magazine.  As a broadcast journalist, he has served as contributing correspondent for ABC News Nightline.  In addition to To Our Children's Children, his national bestsellers include Hang Time: Days and Dreams with Michael Jordan, Be True to Your School, and Good Morning, Merry Sunshine.

D.G. Fulford is a freelance journalist and award-winning former columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News and the New York Times News Service.  Greene and Fulford are brother and sister.