The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

I have become a fan of memoir writing and "The Tender Bar" is one of my favorites. How could you not love a sweet , funny story about a kid that's "raised" in a bar? Just because he's too young to be in a bar in the first place is irrelevant. As the author writes himself "Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me." What a great line!

The story is about J.R. Moehringer's childhood in Manhasset, Long Island. He is the child of a single mother and has no real father figure in his life. He and his mom live with his grandparents, his mother's 2 grown siblings and their children. His home life is obviously a little chaotic.

One of the most interesting characters is his Uncle Charlie who hangs out at the local bar named "Dickens". During the course of the story J.R. sneaks in with him and is befriended by the men that frequent Dickens. There follows a great coming of age story about how these men become the "fathers" that a fatherless boy didn't have.

Reading Moehringer's book is like watching an old episode of "Cheers" . All of the characters are well drawn and when you reach the final pages you'll be sorry that the story is over.