"Picarella's wry observations on fatherhood and American life are spot-on. Consider his light and heartfelt essays to be a user's manual for dads." - CHRIS ERSKINE, Los Angeles Times "While today's digitized and distracted families are generally depicted as wise-cracking and argumentative, Michael Picarella's column steadily reinforces the notion that families remain nurturing, character-building institutions built on love and caring, with a little zaniness around every corner." - JIM SCHOCK, author of The Bridge: A Celebration , former ABC-TV Bureau Chief, West Coast "I really enjoy Michael's writing! His witty stories of his family life are not only charming, but very relatable." - LACEY CHABERT, actress, Mean Girls , Party of Five Ghosts of Girlfriends Past The Wild Thornberrys Michael Picarella shares 70 collected stories and a fistful of family bits from his Southern California-based columns, Family Men Don't Wear Name Brands in The Acorn Newspapers and Picarella Family Report in The Signal. Picarella is a father, husband, columnist, filmmaker and cherry pie lover. He lives in L.A. with his wife, son and super beagle.