When the Voices in My Head Formed a Chat Group

June Bowser-Barrett's memoir When the Voices in My Head Formed a Chat Group has one objective only - to entertain. It's not written to persuade, justify, enlighten or inflame and comes when we all need a lift.

Bowser-Barrett sees the world in comic takes that are universally recognizable. Who hasn't had a "House Guest from Hell," and what overworked teacher doesn't know the fallacy of "But You Get Summers Off." "Fat Ass Breaks Toilet" takes us back to a Catholic girls' school in the '60's to a battle between the girls vs. the rules - with the nuns determined to win "Irish Spring" introduces a charming Dubliner determined to sweep the author off her feet, but what else is he looking to sweep up? "Just a Little Fire" makes us laugh at the fact that "there is no such thing as just a little fire." And what reader can't identify when Bowser-Barrett wins "The Bad Dates Contest"?

In these and other recollections, her voice is quick and the humor underplayed. And since When the Voices in My Head is episodic, read it in spurts - or devour it all at once.

In either case, you'll return to it repeatedly - most anytime your mood can use a boost.