From Animal House to Our House: A Love story Ron Tanner tells the story of his adventures with girlfriend Jill as they atttempt to save and restore a grand old Baltimore Victorian that was wrecked by a notorious fraternity. With Illustrations by the author.
Pub date: February 14, 2012
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I fell for the house, I fell for the girl (and, predictably, her dowager of a basset hound), but most of all, I fell for Ron Tanner, one very fine storyteller. I'm still a bit stunned that I could become so entranced by a tale involving rehab nerds, real-estate shysters, frat-house vandals, Dumpsters, rats, and a whole lot of tools, but I'm enough of a writer to know this: when someone of great heart meets the most deeply personal challenge of a lifetime—especially when it seems strange or insane to just about everyone else—that's the place where the best and most moving stories begin. For Ron Tanner, it began with a woman wrapping glasses in an antique shop . . . and a small sign in a Baltimore window. How little he knew of what was to come, and how glad you'll be that he never backed down.
Julia Glass author of Three Junes and A Widower's Tale
When I was a few pages into "From Animal House to Our House," I wanted to
shout, "Go back! Go back!" But Tanner and his girlfriend persisted with
their daunting home-renovation project, and ended up with (spoiler alert) a
beautiful house, a marriage that survived beyond the last page, and an
excellent book. And the man is a talented illustrator as well: he draws a
mean perforated PVC drainpipe. This is the perfect read for anyone who has
ever wandered the aisles at Home Depot in a blissful daze.
David Owen, staff writer for the New Yorker, author of Green Metropolis
FROM ANIMAL HOUSE TO OUR HOUSE: A LOVE STORY will sweep you off your feet the way traditional love stories do, but with one difference: you'll also fall in love with the house. In this truly compelling story, love and a nail gun conquer everything.
Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and Drinking Closer to Home
Ron Tanner's life is a testament to the power of hard work, a big heart, blind romance, and even outright idiocy. What does he have to show for it? Only a beautiful house, a loving marriage, and now this inspiration of a book. Pass me my hammer!
Chris Jones, writer-at-large for Esquire
I might seem the worst possible person to comment on Ron Tanner's memoir as I am totally uninterested in old houses and home renovation. Actually, this makes me the perfect person. Can you imagine how good a book it would have to be for me to like it? For me, the introspection, the humor, the incredible wisdom about bugs, the love story and the charming illustrations had to carry the book. They certainly do. Tanner is a master of small, sharp, hilarious insights, such as "There was no middle ground for mom. Either our lives were pitiful or miraculous." I love that.
Marion Winik, author of Glen Rock Book of the Dead
In addition to being a love story, a how-to guide, an urban adventure, and even a coming-of-age memoir, From Animal House to Our House is a classic American tale, a portrait of an artist compelled to replace destruction with dignity, to consecrate the past, and to create – via hope and sweat – a life of beauty and meaning. It's rare for a book to appeal to poets and plumbers, but Ron Tanner's experiences are intensely human; this book is for anyone who's ever been seduced by a dream and yearned for the deepest sort of restoration.
Lia Purpura, author of On Looking and Rough LIkeness
Synopsis
Ron and Jill—his girlfriend of six months—discovered the house of their dreams in 2000: a landmark Baltimore brownstone that had belonged to a notorious fraternity. It was condemned property, had sat abandoned for nearly a year, and was such a wreck that no one would buy it. But Jill wanted the house and Ron wanted Jill. So he bought the 4500-square-foot ruin. Neither he nor Jill knew anything about house repair or renovation. The bank gave them six months to get the house up to code. The neighborhood historians told them flatly, "You'll never bring that house back." Ron's realtor said, "This house will eat you alive." Ron's mother said, "Why do you always do things the hard way?"
Impulsive and quixotic—and with two marriages behind him—Ron inspired little confidence. His life had been a series of mistakes and wrong turns. He recognized that taking on this wrecked frat house could be the biggest mistake of his life and he wondered if this time, in what seemed his final reach for love, he had reached too far. As soon as he and Jill started working on the house, they were at odds every day and it became clear to them both that the project would very likely ruin them financially and emotionally. Panicked, flirting with bankruptcy, and barreling through disasters, they had to learn how to live, love, and work together—and succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds.
A book for lovers, dreamers, do-it-yourselfers, and fans of old houses, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story recounts Ron and Jill's adventure, offering inspiration, insight, and hilarity as they hammer away at the American Dream of home ownership and true love. In 2008, This Old House magazine published a feature story about Ron and Jill's work. The online version of this story drew more than 400,000 readers to the magazine's website.
The Animal House National Book Tour: 2013 |
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The Animal House National Book Tour: 2012 |
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Baltimore, MD: Mon., Dec. 10, Center Stage: Stoop Stories |
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