Three weeks with my brother - nicholas and micah sparks

I had to wonder:

1. Why does micah sparks name appear as a co-author when the book is clearly written in the first person by Nicholas?
2. How does Nicholas manage to make a mundane life readable?
3. Can a college prof (his dad) really have been earning so little leading to the life of penury he details?

A very readable autobiography but definitely not essential reading. Not in the same class as his own "the notebook"