Anything by Pat Conroy, he is wonderful! I sure am glad I am not related to him though, he writes about his family (thinnly veiled), egads. Prince of Tides, Beach Music, The Great Santini, ect, ect.
I read The Bronze Horseman earlier this year, a great read it was set in Leningrad during the Nazi invasion. Not a feel good book, to be sure, but very interesting.