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Have you ever wondered why that abandoned house in your neighborhood is sitting vacant, decaying more and more each day, being swallowed up by the overgrown vegetation? Wondered who used to live there, why did they leave? I have always been fascinated by old, abandoned homes and this book hit the spot. LJ
This is an engaging story that will appeal to anyone interested in American historic preservation. Beyond that, this is a great Los Angeles story, particularly about LA in the 80s and 90s. The story has a connection to the local film industry, not the world of movie stars and studio tycoons but the world of the live-on-the-edge film craftspeople and small budget movies that are the core of the creative culture of film in LA. The characters include “can-do” experts who turned out to be over their heads and they include heroes who knew how things work – both within the guts of a house and within the opaque guts of local bureaucracy. RI
Constance Hood has written a beautiful, sometimes haunting, book about anguish, perseverance, and ultimate triumph. At its core, the story is about saving an old house…and to save it she pretty-near needed to destroy the house, learn every nuance about it, and put it back together. AC
A Classic Story of Mt. Washington – Highland Park
This book details an epic struggle of a single mother facing the challenge of splitting a Craftsman home in two, hauling it up a hill, restoring it, and fighting “City Hell” as well. In it we experience all the trials and tribulations, love and betrayal, triumphs and tragedies that life presents. The author writes, “My house looked like a ruffian with missing teeth, punched out in a brawl.” Repairing the home and reconstructing a family proved to be a great experience. WW
Elderly Highland Park craftsmen and Hollywood ruffians, all the more so enduring for the honesty, wit, and raw candor shared, become close friends to the reader. I found myself sharing the triumphs and frustrations with each new encounter faced as I was drawn into the deeper story of truth, human triumph over adversity, deep love, and hope. BG
Into Dark Corridors is a story of perseverance, courage, tenacity, and fortitude in face of all the odds. It's a story that makes you laugh, cry, and celebrate the strength in rising every time you fall. BS
This is a tale of daunting challenges, some predicted, some unknown curveballs, that faced the author, her extended family, and new-found friends as they took on the mind-bending task of moving an eighty-year-old house—up a hill, to renovate and live in. BPL
A Mt. Washington Cinderella story. A derelict manse becoming a revered Craftsman masterpiece and the fairy godmother is Constance Hood. No magic wand but with bulldozers, cranes, engineering and earth moving equipment, the author traces the steps of a seemingly impossible task to a see a relic become a living home on a hill. Yes, there is a prince charming armed with tools and a cooker. BK