We All Scream: The Fall of the Gifford's Ice Cream Empire (signed by the author)
Registered by 
SqueakyChu
of Rockville, Maryland USA on 6/5/2017
This book is in a Controlled Release!
SqueakyChu of Rockville, Maryland USA on 6/5/2017 This book is in a Controlled Release!
4 journalers for this copy...
**********BOOK RING**********
*******See journal entry 3*******
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I bought this book from the author at the Kensington Day of the Book street festival this year (April, 2017) in Kensington, Maryland, USA. Although I didn't have time to hear him address an audience because I was working at BCinDC's BookCrossing booth, I did get a chance to meet and talk with the author. I was delighted to meet him because, not only was Gifford's Ice Cream parlor a significant part of my living in Silver Spring, Maryland, during my young adulthood (1960's-1970's), but also I had won a book on LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program a few years ago that had been published by the author's publishing company. At that time, I had been delighted to learn that this member of the Gifford family was still around.
Inscription in my book:
AG
4/23/17
Kensington, Maryland
Thank you!
*******See journal entry 3*******
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I bought this book from the author at the Kensington Day of the Book street festival this year (April, 2017) in Kensington, Maryland, USA. Although I didn't have time to hear him address an audience because I was working at BCinDC's BookCrossing booth, I did get a chance to meet and talk with the author. I was delighted to meet him because, not only was Gifford's Ice Cream parlor a significant part of my living in Silver Spring, Maryland, during my young adulthood (1960's-1970's), but also I had won a book on LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program a few years ago that had been published by the author's publishing company. At that time, I had been delighted to learn that this member of the Gifford family was still around.
Inscription in my book:
AG
4/23/17
Kensington, Maryland
Thank you!
This is such a harrowing story. I feel like shaking the author's hand to congratulate him simply for surviving his childhood I actually did get to shake his hand, but not before I read this book. In my young adult years, I Iived near and frequently visited the iconic Gifford's Ice Cream Parlor in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, It was known for the best ice cream around...although I also liked the ice cream at the dairy of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. I moved away from Silver Spring before Gifford's closed. I was sad to hear about its closure, but I did not know any of the Gifford family story which lead to its downfall.
It was fun to discover the Gifford name a few years ago when, on the Early Reviewers program of LIbraryThing, I learned that Andrew Gifford of the Silver Spring ice cream parlor family fame was running a small press of which I won an advance review copy of one of its books. I was fascinated to discover what happened to Andrew Gifford by googling his information. When I learned that he published a book of his own about his family and was to appear at the Kensington International Day of the Book street festival in April, 2017, I took advantage of the opportunity to meet him and buy his book.
His story about the ice cream parlor's demise is a very troubling one involving mental illness, family dysfunction, and bizarre business practices bordering on criminality. How Andrew Gifford was involved was minimal because he was a child in the store's heyday, but how his family business affected him was deep and sad. I admire the fact that he was able to not only put his difficult past behind him but I am also struck by the fact that he turned his experiences into something good. He had a penchant for writing and publishing. He followed his heart to begin his own small press, an outgrowth of a small publication he did while in school studying something entirely different.
Gifford wove a tremendously interesting story in this book about his family. I liked how he started with himself as a child, and moved backwards in time to fully flesh out his family's interactions. By the time he got around to writing about the family business itself, the reader was quite immersed in and aware of the personalities involved in this troubling story.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in reading about family dysfunction as a way of further understanding mental illness or about an individual's ability to survive adversity. This story reminds me a lot of The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls in that the youngster of a dysfunctional family is a successful survivor. I wanted to cheer for Andrew Gifford when I turned the last page of this book.
Gifford writes...
"To obsess about Gifford's Ice Cream three decades after it vanished from the face of the Earth? Who could possibly do such a thing? Why?...
Maybe it's not about the product. Maybe it is purely about nostalgia."
Yes. Yes, it is.
It was fun to discover the Gifford name a few years ago when, on the Early Reviewers program of LIbraryThing, I learned that Andrew Gifford of the Silver Spring ice cream parlor family fame was running a small press of which I won an advance review copy of one of its books. I was fascinated to discover what happened to Andrew Gifford by googling his information. When I learned that he published a book of his own about his family and was to appear at the Kensington International Day of the Book street festival in April, 2017, I took advantage of the opportunity to meet him and buy his book.
His story about the ice cream parlor's demise is a very troubling one involving mental illness, family dysfunction, and bizarre business practices bordering on criminality. How Andrew Gifford was involved was minimal because he was a child in the store's heyday, but how his family business affected him was deep and sad. I admire the fact that he was able to not only put his difficult past behind him but I am also struck by the fact that he turned his experiences into something good. He had a penchant for writing and publishing. He followed his heart to begin his own small press, an outgrowth of a small publication he did while in school studying something entirely different.
Gifford wove a tremendously interesting story in this book about his family. I liked how he started with himself as a child, and moved backwards in time to fully flesh out his family's interactions. By the time he got around to writing about the family business itself, the reader was quite immersed in and aware of the personalities involved in this troubling story.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in reading about family dysfunction as a way of further understanding mental illness or about an individual's ability to survive adversity. This story reminds me a lot of The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls in that the youngster of a dysfunctional family is a successful survivor. I wanted to cheer for Andrew Gifford when I turned the last page of this book.
Gifford writes...
"To obsess about Gifford's Ice Cream three decades after it vanished from the face of the Earth? Who could possibly do such a thing? Why?...
Maybe it's not about the product. Maybe it is purely about nostalgia."
Yes. Yes, it is.
**********BOOK RING!**********
I would like this book back because it's a signed copy that I bought from the author, but I mostly want to share this book with others so they can read it, appreciate it, and (hopefully) post a review here and on Amazon.
Here's the forum post:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/542972
Book Ring Participants:
SqueakyChu - Rockville, MD, USA) - read & released
Chris (Ellicott City, USA) - read & released
Jen (Manchester, MD, USA) - read & released
SqueakyChu (Rockville, MD, USA) - previously read & releasedSqnutZips (Silver Spring, MD, USA - read & released
BCinDC members (Who's next?) <-- The book is here as of 7/21/18.
Laurel, my personal friend (New Boston, New Hampshire, USA)
Berly of Librarything (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Thamyres - Silver Spring, Maryland
Mom-Oyster - Gaithersburg, Maryland
SqueakyChu - Rockville, MD, USA
I would like this book back because it's a signed copy that I bought from the author, but I mostly want to share this book with others so they can read it, appreciate it, and (hopefully) post a review here and on Amazon.
Here's the forum post:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/542972
Book Ring Participants:
SqueakyChu - Rockville, MD, USA) - read & released
Chris (Ellicott City, USA) - read & released
Jen (Manchester, MD, USA) - read & released
SqueakyChu (Rockville, MD, USA) - previously read & releasedSqnutZips (Silver Spring, MD, USA - read & released
BCinDC members (Who's next?) <-- The book is here as of 7/21/18.
Laurel, my personal friend (New Boston, New Hampshire, USA)
Berly of Librarything (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Thamyres - Silver Spring, Maryland
Mom-Oyster - Gaithersburg, Maryland
SqueakyChu - Rockville, MD, USA
I mailed this book to Chris, Little Free Library steward in Ellicott City, Maryland, USA. Enjoy the book!
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Enjoy the book!
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Enjoy the book!
As part of a book ray, I'm sending this to Jen Story, Little Free Library of Manchester. Enjoy!
Thanks for returning this book, Jen. I'll now pass it along to members of BCinDC and then have it return to me to travel some more and then return to me for my permanent collection.
Journal Entry 7 by SqueakyChu at Starbucks - Frontier Drive in Springfield, Virginia USA on Monday, March 5, 2018
SqueakyChu at Starbucks - Frontier Drive in Springfield, Virginia USA on Monday, March 5, 2018
Released 6 yrs ago (3/17/2018 UTC) at Starbucks - Frontier Drive in Springfield, Virginia USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I'm releasing this bookring book in conjunction with a BCinDC (my local BookCrossing group) meetup today. This Starbucks has an OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone) so it's a great meet-up place...except that I dislike Starbucks coffee intensely and would prefer green beer today instead. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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Now that you've "caught" this book, please read it and pass it along to other BCinDC members, and then return it to me for my permanent collection. Thank you!
Enjoy the book!
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Now that you've "caught" this book, please read it and pass it along to other BCinDC members, and then return it to me for my permanent collection. Thank you!
Enjoy the book!
I caught this biography at BCinDC meet-up. I saw a Washington Post review of this book last year. This book was on my to read list. Being about ice-cream I some how figured it'd be a happy story...NOT.
Gifford's Ice-cream is/was legendary in the Washington DC/Maryland metropolitan area. This book is well written but it is a disturbing and painful story to read. A real eye opener.
Gifford's Ice-cream is/was legendary in the Washington DC/Maryland metropolitan area. This book is well written but it is a disturbing and painful story to read. A real eye opener.
I am releasing this book back to "SqueakyChu". This book is part of a Book Ring for BCinDC members. The author Andrew Giffords will be a speaker at the Gaithersburg, Maryland Book Festival in May 2018.
To the person who finds this book.....
Keep it or release it, read it or not, but please make a journal entry to let me know it's been found. Keep it, pass it on to a friend or release it into the wild.... let the journey continue.....
If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! You can remain anonymous or join BookCrossing, it's free and loads of fun.
To the person who finds this book.....
Keep it or release it, read it or not, but please make a journal entry to let me know it's been found. Keep it, pass it on to a friend or release it into the wild.... let the journey continue.....
If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! You can remain anonymous or join BookCrossing, it's free and loads of fun.
Thank you for returning this book. I hope to keep it circulating among the members of BCinDC and get a few reviews of this book for the author at the same time!
I'm passing my personal, signed copy of this book among members of BCinDC, my local BookCrossing group, in hopes of helping the author have this book reviewed by our readers. Thank you for your help!
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Enjoy the book!
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Enjoy the book!
I picked this up to bring home before everyone else had arrived. I will try to move it towards the top of my pile, since it is a book ring.
Wow! Andrew Gifford had a childhood of hellacious terror -- and for no apparent reason. Just being able to function normally is a victory. This book was his struggle to make sense of all the things his family put him through and the insanity they perpetrated and finding more questions among the answers. This book takes place not just in my state, but in the city where I live, but it is like something from the Twilight Zone. I am studying for a Master's in Psychology and the only words that come to mind for his family are sick and twisted, because it lacks a motivating anchor.
Gifford's Ice Cream was iconic in the DC area -- a nostalgic dream of the family ice cream parlor with sweet chocolate sauce and a high butterfat content. But it was based on a crumbling bedrock of lies and cruelty that were hidden from the public view. It was never what it seemed and Andrew was the ultimate victim of it all, for no apparent reason. I did not grow up in DC and am not a "foodie", so the mystical power associated with the name Gifford's eludes me and I wonder, as the author does, what others find so compelling in it. But I cannot deny that it exists -- a friend saw that I was reading the book and, although he knew only one of the most recent attempts to revive the name, he immediately had a strong association with the name and the legend.
The book is well-written and compelling, despite being darker than chocolate sauce, and tinged with the same bittersweetness. These horrible people who treated Andrew so badly are the only family and the only source of love, such as it was, that he ever knew. The shining icon of Gifford's that everyone associates with his name is the center of the world where it all took place. He manages to draw you into the aching question of "Why" that haunts him and leaves you wanting the answers every bit as badly as he does. I wish him well and hope that he finds a measure of healing in his future.
Gifford's Ice Cream was iconic in the DC area -- a nostalgic dream of the family ice cream parlor with sweet chocolate sauce and a high butterfat content. But it was based on a crumbling bedrock of lies and cruelty that were hidden from the public view. It was never what it seemed and Andrew was the ultimate victim of it all, for no apparent reason. I did not grow up in DC and am not a "foodie", so the mystical power associated with the name Gifford's eludes me and I wonder, as the author does, what others find so compelling in it. But I cannot deny that it exists -- a friend saw that I was reading the book and, although he knew only one of the most recent attempts to revive the name, he immediately had a strong association with the name and the legend.
The book is well-written and compelling, despite being darker than chocolate sauce, and tinged with the same bittersweetness. These horrible people who treated Andrew so badly are the only family and the only source of love, such as it was, that he ever knew. The shining icon of Gifford's that everyone associates with his name is the center of the world where it all took place. He manages to draw you into the aching question of "Why" that haunts him and leaves you wanting the answers every bit as badly as he does. I wish him well and hope that he finds a measure of healing in his future.
Journal Entry 14 by 
6of8
at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA on Saturday, November 24, 2018
6of8 at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA on Saturday, November 24, 2018
Released 5 yrs ago (12/16/2018 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book is going to the BCinDC Holiday Party to find another local reader for the bookring.
Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.
Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.
