“You don’t really know much when you’re born, but that’s where it starts alright, whether you like it or not. When you’re just a little suckling pig on your mamma’s teat, all you really want to know is that the teat will keep filling up so you can start suckling all over again. Once you reckon the food’s always gonna be there when you’re hungry, you move on to wondering whether you’re gonna be kept safe from harm and warm when it’s cold. As you get a little older, you find out that maybe there isn’t always going to be enough to eat after all, and you won’t always be warm either. This is especially true if you were growing up during the Great Depression in Texas, in the western part, where any stranger is sized up from boot to hat—if, that is, they’re lucky enough to own both. Texans trust themselves first and foremost, and then maybe one or two of their kinfolk, as long as they’ve found that trust to be right as rain, if the sun can set on their words. I grew up trying to figure out who to put in which category: those I could trust and those never to turn my back on. I learned what I know from watching those who crossed over and the others who stayed on their own side.                      I did both.”

Cono Dennis, his sister Delma & Pooch - late 1930s

Cono’s coming of age story will squeeze your heart and tickle your smile. It is a story of human triumph and hard won dreams.

Who knew a young boy could be this deliciously clever while facing some of the toughest things in life?

Better yet, his uncanny ability to turn his difficulties into advantages will have you wearing a sly smile while rooting for this modern day Tom Sawyer.

A true story – www.nohillforastepper.com