I was drawn to this book by it's intriguing cover, title, and the fact that it was about an American lawyer, who on a whim decided to spend a year training as a British barrister. I'm a Canadian. What I know about the American legal system was primarily learned from TV or books. What I know about the British system also comes from books but on one trip to England, my husband and I visited England and did a tour of some of the legal chambers in London which taught us the difference between barristers & solicitors.

I'm sure it must have been quite an endeavour for the author and his family to pick up and move overseas for a year, but that's what they did. The year was filled with lots of new experiences, many laughs, lots of learning and lots of life lessons. For me as a reader, it was a most enjoyable read. At one point, the author described himself as follows: "I suffer from ADD, Adjective Deficiency Disorder". That may be true when it comes to describing a crime scene, but I didn't find it to be a problem with his writing.

The Barrister who was mentoring him, Giles, was a unique character, quite self confident, a lover of good things (especially fine wines) and an excellent Barrister. The relationship between Giles and Dennis went through various stages but ultimately, both men learned from, and developed a healthy respect for each other and their separate skills. By the end of their year together, Giles was dying and Dennis was acting as a British barrister, wig, gown and all.

In between they had many adventures, including trips to Normandy where Giles owned property. They would share high class meals with interesting people and tour the area as well. Giles apparently didn't like the French , mainly because he thought they gave up to easily, leaving Britain to fight alone against the "German juggernaut". The author then said that he felt Giles was overlooking the contributions of Russia and America. This comment bothered me because it excluded Canada who had a huge role to play in Normandy on D-Day at Juno Beach. The topic came up again later in the book, but the second time, Turner added Canada to the list. I forgave him.

Overall this memoir was fascinating and I learned a lot about the differences in the two legal systems including the importance of "tradition" in the British one. It would seem there are advantages and disadvantages to both. As a family, Dennis and his wife and daughter were warmly welcomed by their new neighbours and by Giles. They were toured around to both common tourist spots and also had the experience of trampling through muddy cow fields. The stories were told with a sense of humor. When Dennis had to drive on the "wrong" side of the road the first time, I could truly empathize with him. I tried it once. Never again!

When Giles illness became obvious to Dennis, their relationship changed in many ways with a touching level of trust. It was moving to read.

I tend to read more fiction than non- fiction, but found this satisfied me just as much as fiction does. There is a disclaimer at the end of the book to let the reader know that some names have been changed. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the law, travel in England and life lessons.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #BookWhisperer for allowing me to read an ARC of this memoir. Opinions are my own.