Diane Seal Allen

Keeping the Universe Straight Diane Seal Allen

Diane Seal Allen began to suspect she was in trouble when son number three arrived. When son number four came along, she was convinced of it. Son number five showed up just to put the icing on a cake made of chaos.



In an admittedly desperate attempt to impose some order on her life, Diane kept lists. Not grocery lists or to-do lists-no, Diane kept lists of things concerning her family, such as things she never thought she'd hear herself say ("It's hard to enjoy a dead gerbil"), questions her sons asked ("Which one is both of these?"), and inappropriate topics for dinner debate (whether spitting is a bodily function or entertainment).



These are lists any parent can look at and think, "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, and cleaned up the mess." Diane's lists are hilariously honest and surprisingly poignant. Her lists are memories of times long gone when the five accomplished young men she raised argued over what was lying squished in the road and thought turning off the light was considered an acceptable way to clean the kitchen.