Growing up thirty-one miles from nowhere in the sparse country of Western Kansas is challenge enough...but add the years 1940 to the early 1960s, a house full of independent, rowdy kids, a mother who teaches one room country schools and a father that scrapes out a career in farming...it's all bound to collide in an unpredictable life. Written with reference from an armload of diaries and a heritage rich in hard work, struggle and humor, we relive the times of a family growing up determined to survive. As a first-time author, Twila Tuttle Blakely has shared the resilience of a family who met everyday life head-on. Having parents who grew up in the early 1900s with no modern conveniences (running water, electricity, inside bathrooms, phones, or vehicles) created tough individuals. The lack of these same "modern conveniences" carried over into the first several years of their married life, with the exception of a vehicle, as their family grew to nine children, seven who survived to adulthood. Life was made interesting with a dirt floor, glass cloth windows, farming chores, pet skunks, a variety of different high schools...and even a Haunted House. Entertainment in the boonies was created by the vivid imagination of the four boys and three girls...often at each other's expense...but there was always "pay back" time. Hard times and tragedies were faced with a faith in God and the support of each other. Written in a rather whimsical way, the author has created moments that will make you smile often, tear up, and relive your own treasured memories. "Twila Tuttle Blakely's charming and thoughtful memoir took me down my own memory lane and reminded me of the incredible importance of telling our stories. THIRTY-ONE MILES FROM NOWHERE is filled with genuine humor, profound insights, and slice-of-life moments that bring a tear to the eye and joy to the heart. I loved this book " -- Deborah Raney, author of THE FACE OF THE EARTH and the Chicory Inn Novels series