Secondhand Scotch: How One Family Survived In Spite Of Themselves

When your grandparents make bathtub gin and go shopping with funny money, and your dad flaunts his degree from the school of hard knocks, you grow up learning that “life ain’t no got-dem picnic.” These lessons are handed down to Cathy Curran by Eastern European immigrants who learned how to survive, caring little for aesthetics—“if it worrrks, who gives a got-dem what da hell it looks like.” Lucky for Curran, her mother is a gentle soul with a dry wit. Lillian Low’s homespun values—people come in all flavors just like ice cream—bring joy and humor into the Low house. When restless Joe Low ditches one suburb for another because he wants a do-over, Lillian tells him, “How the hell many do you need? Don’t you know that wherever you go, you’ve got to take yourself with you?” Along for the ride is the colorful, extended Low clan, who turn up to celebrate the arrival of Joe and Lillian’s army of kids. They eat, sing, Joe gets plastered, and all too often, scotch-fired arguments lead to some good old-fashioned fistfights. The mayhem that actually started the brawl gets swept under the carpet, and when Curran finally pulls it up, pandemonium emerges from hell with a vengeance. Through the vision of a sensitive young girl with a wickedly funny voice, “Secondhand Scotch” uncorks some harsh realities, but never ceases to warm and entertain.