The Norwegian Black Sheep

This small book is a chronicle of the life and psychology of the author William Gunderson's grandfather of the same exact name. It is part memoir and part history book of the author's paternal line. William Gunderson Sr. was a part Norwegian, part French-Candian-American who grew up on the streets of 1940s-50s era Brooklyn, Kings, NY. His parents and family members were complicated people who shaped his complicated character. This memoir written by his grandson seeks to understand the character of the man while providing a certain level of introspection and wondering on the struggle for identity. The subjects of genealogy, family struggles and abuse, American history, and quasi-Freudian psychology all serve to make this small book/memoir quite an entertaining read. Anyone who loves a good, short read with some history or genealogy thrown in will definitely love this one! There are definitely some twists and turns in the story, but it seeks to be fair to real-world people who lived real and complicated lives.