I just enjoyed the heck out of WELCOME TO REPLICA DODGE. Now I just have to figure out WHY. Author Natalie Ruth Joynton is forty-plus years younger than I am. She grew up a reluctant Methodist in Houston, the younger daughter of a fairly affluent family (they drove a Lincoln). Her father was a philosophy prof, and later a college president. Her mom worked in the medical field. I grew up Catholic in small-town Michigan. My dad ran a grain elevator and my mom, well she was our mom - six kids was a pretty full-time job back then. (Dad drove a Chevy.)

But there are connections here, nevertheless. When Natalie was a college freshman in Houston (she preferred 'Ruth' by then), her parents moved north to Michigan, where her father became the president of Alpena Community College, a move 'up' in his profession. Ruth stayed in Houston to finish college, but spent summers and holidays in Alpena, where she met Joe, her future husband, who was part of a large Catholic family, although he was a self-styled atheist by the time he met Natalie Ruth. So. See some connections here? Her boyfriend - big Catholic family, small town in Michigan. And another thing that struck a nerve. At age twelve, Natalie Ruth declined to be 'saved'/baptized in her Protestant faith, the only one of her peers to do so. Looking back, I remember my daughter, at about the same age, objecting strongly to the whole idea of Confirmation (although she later went along with it), and, years later, she still has a lot of questions about the Catholic faith she grew up in. Well, Natalie Ruth went a step further - several steps even. During her college years - in Houston, and later at Purdue - she became very interested in the Jewish faith, took years-long instructions and converted.

And THAT is really one of the central themes of her story. Because after college, and after having gone through years of study about her new faith, she and Joe ended up in Ludington, on Michigan's "west coast," where it seems she may have been the only Jew in town. But she does her best to maintain her faith and tries to observe Jewish holidays and traditions. This is a persistent theme which runs throughout her narrative. Because this is a story of trying to fit in, a story of often feeling 'apart,' of dislocation. From big city to small town. From reluctant Christian to eager, devout Jew. And from being on her own, to being part of a couple, and, finally, to being a wife and mother.

So you see there's a lot of stuff going on here. And I haven't even got to what's this TITLE all about - WELCOME TO REPLICA DODGE. Well, that's about the homestead she and Joe bought between Ludington and Scottville. An old farm that has a downsized replica western main street of old Dodge City, with a saloon, a barber shop, a church and more. And it's all right in their front yard. Cool, huh? How it got there, who built it - well, read the book, okay?

The other central theme here is more, I think, about family. Because Natalie's family was a interesting study. Her father, a philosophy teacher who played "devil's advocate" with his kids about their Methodist faith, but also insisted they go to church together every Sunday. Their mother, who came from a very poor background - grew up in the Houston 'projects' of San Felipe Courts, and married very young to escape. (Natalie's parents' marriage was the second for both of them.)
And then there is Joe, a physics and math teacher and devout student of the natural world. And this - Joe and Natalie Ruth - is the love story part of the narrative, how they struggle to become a family. And adapt to their new place and situation. For Joe, who grew up in a small town (albeit on the other side of the state), the adjustment is not so tough. But for Natalie, trying first to put together a traditional Jewish wedding where there are no Jews, let alone a rabbi; and to keep on adhering to the traditions of her adopted faith - well, yeah, it was tough. But Joe was all in for her, and so were her parents. So, yeah. Family.

Faith and family. Believing and doubting. And a great love story in here to boot. That's why I loved this book. Joynton manages to bridge generational gaps and religious differences - all that stuff. And she's a damn good writer too, by the way. I've got to tell my daughter about this book, because I think she'll relate. She'll get it. In fact, I'll try to tell everyone about WELCOME TO REPLICA DODGE. It's good. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )