In Search of the Beanstalk

In Search of the Beanstalk is a memoir about the family history and life of Jack Griggs and was written to preserve some of his family's history by recounting some of the amusing events and episodes of their humble beginnings and their journey to self-sufficiency. The family ancestry hails back to Scotland and the Cherokees of North Carolina. Although they were "poor," the family persevered through many hardships, but they seemed to always see the humor in what would have seemed to be unbearable circumstances. Levity made many of them tolerable, and the stories were retold many times at family gatherings. Jack, despite the many obstacles he faced in his early life, grew up to be the first in his family to graduate from college and earn not one but two master's degrees along with becoming a successful public servant devoting forty years to law enforcement. The book covers his family background and life from birth through adulthood. Jack recounts his tumultuous childhood in and out of orphanages, almost constantly changing where and who he lived with during his early years. He attended five different high schools. He served in the United States Air Force and had many jobs in his life until he ultimately began his career in law enforcement culminating in his last two jobs as a police chief in California before his retirement. With a phenomenal memory for details, Jack shares many anecdotes about his life growing up and his law enforcement career.