Little and Often

The most precious family heirlooms can be everyday items. For debut author Preszler, his father’s battered toolbox, full of farming tools and other items, helped him make sense of their relationship. Preszler grew up in rural South Dakota, and his father was a rancher, former rodeo star, and Vietnam vet. The author writes with raw honesty about the closeness he shared with his father as a child, and how they became estranged over the years, moreseo after Preszler’s college graduation. The author moved on to run a boutique winery on Long Island. His father battled cancer, probably brought on by Agent Orange exposure. Shortly before he died, he insisted that Preszler take his toolbox. Inspired to build a canoe by the first anniversary of his father’s death, Preszler used many of the tools in the toolbox. Life lessons imparted by his father when they were close—an emotional toolbox of sorts—also sustained him during the painstaking work. Alternating details of canoe building with reflections on his past, Preszler finds solace in the art of woodworking.