I wanted to read Nancy McCoy’s Butterflies Do Not Sleep in Hot Tubs: A Lawyer’s Tortured Search for Truth because I had heard that she had two chapters in her book that dealt with Harry Chapin. Chapin was the singer/song writer whose great story songs, concerts as well as generosity and tireless efforts to combat hunger were, and continue to be, an inspiration to many people.

“Harry Chapin did a full half of his concerts for charity or other causes which were important to him. Along with a friend, he started an organization called World Hunger Year to address the needs of the hungry. He thought it was unconscionable that in a country in which we produce at least six times as much food as it would take to feed all of our citizens each year, we have 20 million people who are hungry on a daily basis. As usual, he was right on point. He wasn’t reluctant to put his money and his time where his mouth was, which is the most admirable part. World Hunger Year still exists, by the way, and continues Harry’s work. There is also a Harry Chapin Foundation which was started by Harry’s widow, Sandy in 1981. It carries on the work that Harry and Sandy began together.” (page 21)

Tragically, Chapin died in a car accident in 1981.

But Butterflies Do Not Sleep in Hot Tubs is so much more than these two chapters. There are 37 other short chapters in which McCoy relates some of the memorable experiences in her life and provides some thought provoking observations that the reader will be able to relate to and benefit from. These “life lessons” aren’t remarkable, but they are important ones that we tend to forget and which we need to be reminded of.

Some of the chapters in McCoy’s book are humourous (“The Fighting Tampons” comes to mind), others are serious, but they all offer good advice and encourage the reader to think about the important things and personalities in one’s life. Even the “Acknowledgement” was enjoyable to read – especially McCoy’s reference to her former employers at McDonald’s.

“To those people at McDonald’s, who don’t get to have their names in my book, who in 1977 fired a 20-year-old pregnant woman. Kiss my ass, guys. I’m a lawyer.” (page 232)

For more information you can visit www.nancymccoyauthor.com  The Harry Chapin Foundation receives a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book.