David Ellis Dickerson

Describes how the author's long-awaited dream job at Hallmark was challenged by his fundamentalist upbringing and social awkwardness that made it difficult for him to write relatable card sentiments, in a whimsical account that chronicles his bumpy journey toward maturity.

Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions : a Memoir

House of Cards

'SPEND SOME TIME PERUSING THE GREETING-CARD AISLE OF A DRUGSTORE AND YOU BEGIN TO WONDER PRECISELY WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE CREATE THE OFTEN SACCHARINE, SOMETIMES WHIMSICAL, OCCASIONALLY TOUCHING SENTIMENTS ON THE HUNDREDS OF CARDS SHELVED THERE. THANKS TO DAVID ELLIS DICKERSON'S HOUSE OF CARDS, WE NOW HAVE AN ENTHUSIASTIC - IF UNLIKELY-GUIDE TO THE INDUSTRY.' - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL DAVID ELLIS DICKERSON'S DREAM WAS TO WRITE GREETING CARDS. But when he landed a coveted slot at Hallmark, he discovered his limited life experience as a fundamentalist-raised, twenty-six-year-old virgin left him woefully unprepared for the wordly sentiments he was expected to deliver. In House of Cards, Dickerson reveals how his time at Hallmark finally opened his eyes to a much larger and emotionally rich world. In comic and sometimes cringe-inducing detail, he chronicles his bumpy journey to maturity, from straitlaced evangelical Christian to (relatively) modern single guy. Confronting his past, his beliefs, his relationships, and his virginity, Dickerson ponders whether his struggle to stay true to the only life he knew is really worth it. '[DICKERSON'S] MEMOIR WILL DELIGHT.' - REALSIMPLE.COM 'HILARIOUS AND . . . AMAZINGLY, WONDERFULLY WEIRD.' - BOB SHACOCHIS, NATIONAL BOOK AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF EASY IN THE ISLANDS AND THE IMMACULATE INVASION

The True Story of how a 26-year-old Fundamentalist Virgin Learned about Life, Love, and Sex by Writing Greeting Cards: a Memoir

Belle

This was probably a 3.5 rounded up. Parts of it were really fun, and a lot of it was surprising and/or shocking. But a few parts dragged on, also. I really hated the ending, as it seemed like it could use an epilogue to explain how things turned out, rather than just ending abruptly.

Jennifer A.

** spoiler alert **
           This memoir is about the David Ellis Dickerson's dream-gig at greeting card company, Hallmark. As a former Christian Conservative and self professed virgin, he leaves the familiar in Tucson and moves to Kansas City where he discovers the complexity to fit in at a new company. While he's at it, he also tentatively discovers the sexuality of the opposite sex. 

The tone of the book is pitch-perfect Saturday morning NPR, especially the early chapters. I had genuine laugh-out-loud, catch-my-breath moments. Now, the problem with the book is that about half-way through the story, Dickerson starts to account daily events in his unhappy career. After awhile, it just seemed like petty office grievances in book form. The genuinely funny scenes about his fiancee and his discovery of the female body are lost within the author's musings to be comfortable n his work environment. If the book had contained less of office rants, I would have given it a higher rating.

House of Cards Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions : a Memoir

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