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What you'll find inside Steve's book...
A Foreword by Molly Johnston ... with comments about their dad from her three brothers as well.
A Preface by Steve ... ruminating sagely, among other things, on where it all started - in the 7th grade. How they first met - and we assume Steve wasn't calling Nancy "the Truly Unpleasant" back then! |
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The Sunday Punch years: More than 40 of the columns he wrote for Pacific (later Pacific Northwest) magazine between 1988 and 2007. Organized in these chapters:
- Cruisin' Colby (remembering his years in scenic Everett)
- Krazy Kids and Fatherhood
- 'Tis the season to be ... crazy? (Holidays with the Johnstons)
- It's the pits (a look inside his home life, of course)
- Life in hell (Not really, dear!) - all about a wonderful marriage
And finally: The "Truly Unpleasant" got her chance to offer a rebuttal in the magazine.
Bonus material! If you weren't reading the Eastside edition of The Seattle Times back in the 1990s, you missed these gems:
- "Just Ask Johnston" - in which our columnist tackles readers' questions on everything from the world's most important invention, to the cause of that red, white and blue lightning.
- "The Two Steves," a bit of literary burlesque thinly disguised as restaurant reviews.
A word from a boss...
"When people learned that I worked at The Seattle Times, their first question - usually asked with an air of hopeful expectation - was, "Do you know Steve Johnston?" That was followed quickly by, "Is he really like what he sounds like in his columns?" And, "Is his wife 'Truly Unpleasant?' " The short answers were yes, yes and definitely, absolutely no.
Steve connected with so many readers not just because he is funny (though many women failed to appreciate the humorous way he regarded his wife, Nancy, in print), but because he writes about life in ways many of us experience it. In a word, Steve's writing is genuine. So is he. Steve's stories are funny, but they are also filled with timeless insights about life that make them worth reading again and again. Enjoy."
Alex MacLeod
Managing Editor, 1986-2003
The Seattle Times
"When people learned that I worked at The Seattle Times, their first question - usually asked with an air of hopeful expectation - was, "Do you know Steve Johnston?" That was followed quickly by, "Is he really like what he sounds like in his columns?" And, "Is his wife 'Truly Unpleasant?' " The short answers were yes, yes and definitely, absolutely no.
Steve connected with so many readers not just because he is funny (though many women failed to appreciate the humorous way he regarded his wife, Nancy, in print), but because he writes about life in ways many of us experience it. In a word, Steve's writing is genuine. So is he. Steve's stories are funny, but they are also filled with timeless insights about life that make them worth reading again and again. Enjoy."
Alex MacLeod
Managing Editor, 1986-2003
The Seattle Times
