In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped using the passage of his father, William F. Buckley, the daddy of the modern conservative motion, and his mom, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York’s most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their just kid and their relationship was close and complicated. Creates Buckley: ‘They weren’t – with respect to every other set of adoring, great parents in the world – your regular dad and mom.’

As Buckley about Shedding Mum and Pup: A Memoir tells the storyplot of their last year jointly, he takes listners on a surprisingly engaging tour through clinics, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his love of life by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: ‘To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.’

Just like Calvin Trillin and Joan Didion gave solace and understanding into the connection with dropping a spouse, Christopher Buckley gives consolation, wit, and heat to those dealing with the death of a parent, while telling a unique personal tale of life with legends.