The author grew up in a traditional Catholic home that then went crazy. College-professor dad started having affairs with his students. After he admitted it to mom, their relationship fell apart, and dad started getting violent. Mom took the kids to live in what was a squatter house on the other side of town. To protect themselves from the squatters returns, they got a dog. That was the start of the animals. Eventually, they brought in more animals. Mom worked a series of jobs to support the family, eventually working at UPS. There continued to be drama with dad. He would appear and inflict violence on their property and kill animals. It was not a happy relationship.
The book intersperses the biography of the family with the story of various animals. They didn't expect to have a New Jersey animal rescue operation, but they just couldn't resist animals. Eventually, a non-profit was set up and a larger plot of land was purchased. The daughter (the author of the book) took over the work, while still trying to run her design business. Mom passed away from cancer. Dad had been found dead after falling down the stairs in his house. (He had not been found for a few weeks. He claimed to not have any children, but never excluded them from his will.)
The had some very negative accounts of the father. It felt like it could not have been written before he died. I found the life history to be the more appealing point. It was quite the bizarre upbringing. They lived in extreme poverty with their mom and great wealth with their dad. Yet, they wanted to avoid their dad as much as possible. The animal parts felt more like isolated interjections to the historical narrative.
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