Praise for Passing on Curves

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The early stories about the makeshift zoo are particularly memorable…. McLaughlin relates them so honestly, with the right mix of emotions. What’s here is good stuff, and unique.”

Foreword Reviews


“Readers… will relish Passing on Curves While Death Rides Shotgun for its ultimate strength as a series of stories of what makes humans endure, thrive, and survive.”

—Diane Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Book Review


“A compelling memoir by one of the country’s major storytelling performers.”

—Jim Grimsley, award-winning playwright and author of How I Shed My Skin


“McLaughlin suggests that what sets us apart as humans is that we tell stories…he’s got some doozies. Open this book and you’ll see what I mean.”

Jim Lynch, award-winning author of Truth Like the Sun


“A born storyteller, McLaughlin grew up with so much to fear, he became fearless—particularly in digging into the painful truths and revelations that make this a remarkable collection of personal essays.”

Laura Fraser, New York Time best-selling author of An Italian Affair


 “Written with compassion, vulnerability and economy…his stories are like polished jewels.”

—Starhawk, best-selling author of The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing


McLaughlin has taken some of his rawest and most fascinating monologues and anthologized them into this page-turner of a book.

Barry Yoeman, author of The Gutbucket King