Book Review: The Little Things

Reviewed by Erin Britton

A heartfelt memoir of surviving and becoming

Wade Pier has had to clear his fair share of hurdles to get here: from a childhood characterized by uncertainty, ridicule, and abuse to an army career both brutal and freeing and to a later-in-life diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). These troubles certainly took a toll on him, most notably in the alcoholism he developed at a young age, but he manages to come through them all in The Little Things.

This memoir is his sincere and no-holds-barred account of his life to date. “I have been through quite a few experiences in my life, and I am sure that I’m not the only one. Maybe my particular story is my own. We all have our own individual stories and our own individual ways of coping with every situation.” It’s a quietly powerful memoir that portrays the positivity that can be found in the most surprising of places.

The worst times probably occurred during his childhood, but before getting to all that, Pier explains the best decision he ever made: the decision to enlist in the US Army. His experience was unusual in that his ASVAB placement test indicated his suitability as deep sea diver—it’s a relatively rare calling even in the army, and very few potential recruits make it through basic training. Pier straightforwardly admits that he ended up being one of the dropouts, but his anecdotes about diver training are unusual and very interesting.

Given that the dropout rate from diver training is 80%, Pier also completed carpentry and masonry school with the army, along with the physical fitness elements and hardships of basic training, which means he still has lots of material to relate. He has a wry wit and some of his observations are very funny.

“There were tiny little frogs jumping everywhere and they were jumping all over us. Like mini parkour on our faces. It was cool minus the smell.”

Interestingly, there’s an air of detachment to many of the stories, almost as if Pier is relating something that happened to someone else. At the risk of engaging in a spot of armchair psychology, it’s probably an understandable outcome of his childhood, but the lack of emotional investment does make the tone of some memories difficult to grasp. “On the very first run, a soldier dropped dead on the track from heart failure. Private Stevenson was seventeen years old and a star basketball player in high school. It was a very tragic start to say the least.”

Pier comes across as extremely matter of fact when talking things like this—and there’s probably an aspect of gallows humor to it. The brevity and episodic style of The Little Things mean that Pier isn’t always able to provide sufficient detail or recollections to truly elucidate the depth of what he is relating.

Still, the chosen approach means that he is able to pack a lot into the book and to provide an engaging whistlestop tour of his life. For instance, after washing out of the diver prescreen course, Pier opted for deployment in Alaska, which unexpectedly became his home. He clearly relished his time in the US Army—perhaps finding a place to belong for the first time in his life—despite the lack of equipment (“The military budget is pretty extensive and I am positive that Alaska gets none of it.”) and the incompetence of some superior officers. His descriptions of fellow soldiers and of his ongoing drink problem are particularly strong here.

Moreover, the decision to deploy to Alaska led Pier to the second best decision of his life: marrying his girlfriend Shannon and starting a family. The life they’ve built together clearly means everything to Pier, but it has also caused him to painfully reflect on his parents’ relationship and his childhood. “We both understand how trauma effects childhood and that it can be passed down between generations. We did our due diligence to not give that gift to our kids.” It sounds like Pier has succeeded in breaking the cycle of abuse, but he had to learn some harsh lessons to do so.

The vignettes dealing with his youth are the most troubling aspects of The Little Things. His parents—Jack and Sondra—had an on/off relationship, and they spent much of the “on” time hurting each other and abusing and belittling Pier. His older half-brother Troy, who careened in and out of his life, didn’t help matters either. And during the “off” time, Sondra thought nothing of abandoning Pier for weeks on end, while Jack “was abusive. Verbally and physically. I was called names like dumb ass, dip shit, or asshole. He used to get in my face and poke me in the chest.”

Given the ill-treatment and disinterest that he faced, coupled with the fact that the family moved frequently and so never really settled anywhere, it’s no wonder that Pier made some bad choices as a young man, including joining a gang while in high school. “I thought that being in a gang would offer me protection. But instead it just offered more fear. Instead of a place where I belonged, it was a place full of more drama and divide.” It’s perhaps fortunate that, as Pier sardonically notes, he wasn’t very good at being a criminal, although it’s a shame he had to accidentally shoot himself before realizing as much.

Pier is pretty hard on himself throughout The Little Things, even though he describes having forgiven himself for past mistakes and realized the catastrophic influence that his past has had on him: “I no longer talk bad about myself and that was one of the hardest habits that I have broken so far.” As such, despite all the humor and the interesting diversions, such as his time in the Marshall Islands, it is still sometimes a difficult read. It’s impossible not to be upset by what happened to him as a child or by the episodes of self-destruction that followed later.

Ultimately though, The Little Things is an inspiring memoir that chronicles Pier’s journey through extreme adversity and toward what he had always wanted: a loving family. For all he’s been through—including, most recently, the terrible medical care he received for his MS—Pier is definitely a glass half full type of person. He remembers the kindness that people have shown him and takes pains to acknowledge it, which leads to one of the book’s most important lessons: “The kindness of others goes a long way, no matter how small.”

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