You are always looking for something fun to read. And  a book called Talkin’ Big sounds like a hoot just from the title, right? I agree! Well, dear reader, this would be His Grace’s memoir.

Though I have not written a blog post since the Hoover administration, you may recall that I refer to my darlin’ husband as His Grace, and he has been a good sport about my teasing him in this space, like the time we were in France and he said “MAGNIFICO!” because everybody knows that is French for where is the men’s room.

He has done some other amazing things, too, such as:

Raised by a single mother, young Tom Dittmer (aka His Grace) had barely the grades to graduate high school, let alone overcome poverty, illness, dyslexia, and a crippling stutter. 

And yet he managed to graduate college (his mother cried for a week); serve in an elite military unit; be appointed a White House Social Aide; meet and marry a beautiful Texan (that would be Frances I; I am Frances II), and make a million dollars by the time he was 30. Srsly.

The financial futures business in 1970s Chicago was the Wild West, and Tom was a gunslinger with the best (and worst) of them.

In a place and time like no other, Tom was smack in the middle of it, pushing, shoving, and persevering. Oh, and he co-founded a huge brokerage firm. I almost forgot to say that. It doesn’t exist today, and that is really sad. It hasn’t all been roses, trust me. 

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, occasionally off-color but always colorful, Tom tells his story in a chain of events that reads like a movie script, with characters including celebrities, sovereigns, fugitives, financiers, Nobel laureates, and no-good scoundrels.

Talkin’ Big is about living large, winning big, losing badly, and staying true to who you are. Through it all, he’s had the grace and chutzpah to enjoy the whole ride, and you can’t help but enjoy it, too.

I mean the pictures alone…

The title is Talkin’ Big because that is what he likes to do. Come on, he’ll say, let’s go out on the porch and smoke cigars and talk big. But in a cute way, not a stuck-up-I’m-a-big-deal way. Because otherwise I wouldn’t have gone on the second date.

I love a man who can rock a Zorro costume with an almost straight face.

Men are hard to buy presents for unless they have, like, a Barbie collection or something, so Talkin’ Big is a good gift for them. Just sayin’. Get yours by clicking here,* and thank you. A Zorro costume is always good, too. Heck, get both.

Oh, and you’ll be doing good: All the profits from Talkin’ Big go to this great school on the West Side of Chicago called Providence St. Mel, which we need more of in this world.

Happy Trails and keep Talkin’ Big,

Frances

*The links above are to TomDittmer.com, and you can get a signed copy via there, or order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Books, et al.