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Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son and a Road Trip around the World

Bill Raney and JoAnne Walker Raney
Nickelodeon Press (2011)
ISBN 9780982138410
Reviewed by Kam Aures for Rebecca’s Reads (08/11)

When I first set eyes on Bill Raney’s “Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son and a Road Trip around the World,” I found the cover to be very intriguing.  This would definitely be a book that would grab my attention in a book store setting. After reading the book, I was pleased to find that the expectations that I had from viewing the cover were met by the contents within.

“1967 was the summer of love in a summer of death.  As napalm rained down on the people of Vietnam and the first of the runaways began trickling into San Francisco, with flowers in their hair, JoAnne with her dachshund, her husband and their ten-month-old son, Eric Xerxes Raney, trickled out of San Francisco, wondering if they would ever return.  JoAnne had just sold her little movie theatre and after all its debts were paid off, perhaps ten thousand dollars remained, which we decided to blow on a Volkswagen camper-van and a trip to Europe.”  (p.ix)

What follows is a series of letters from father to son and excerpts from Zerky’s mother’s diary chronicling events from the destinations.  I really enjoyed the format of the book and reading about the family’s travels.  There were also many photographs throughout the memoir, which greatly added to the story.  Another positive attribute related to the format of the book was the inclusion of numerous maps showing exactly where they were in their travels.  It is always nice to have visuals included relating to the people and places that are being discussed. 

There is also a music CD, “Waltzing around the World,” which is a nice accompaniment to the book.  My favorite song on the CD was “Zerky’s Waltz” which I must say is quite the catchy little tune.  “Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son and a Road Trip around the World” is a unique and powerful memoir.  The story is very well put together and I enjoyed reading of the family’s adventures. 

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