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marisahowardkarp 's review for:
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie
by Michael Patrick MacDonald, Michael Patrick MacDonald
This book completely blew me away. I rarely give anything 5 stars but there was no question in this case. This is the true story of a poor white Irish-American family living in the projects in Southie. The writer was the 9th of 11 children and came of age during the seventies, right in the middle of busing and forced integration of housing projects. His story is unquestionably the most frightening story of urban poverty I've ever read, only in part because it's a true story. The fear this family lived with every day are almost beyond comprehension - children dying on a regular basis, gang activity, gun violence in the streets, and much more.
Though I've lived in Boston since 1998, Southie is probably the neighborhood I know the least. But the history - the racial tensions during busing, Whitey Bulger as unofficial mayor of Southie - still influences much of Boston today in ways that felt familiar. The details of the story filled in a lot of historical gaps for me that really helped me understand my adopted hometown much better.
McDonald's writing style is clean and straightforward, and his story needs no embellishment. Though he did have family members involved with drugs, violence, and crime, he so clearly lays out the paths that led his brothers down these roads that it's almost impossible to imagine how they could have made different choices. And his mother's incredible strength and commitment to protecting her children in the face of some of the worst situations a mother can imagine is breathtaking. As a parent, I can only hope I would be as strong and steady for my children in the face of similar threats.
I'm having nightmares about some of the stories he told, but I couldn't put it down. I'm still wishing it wasn't over.
Though I've lived in Boston since 1998, Southie is probably the neighborhood I know the least. But the history - the racial tensions during busing, Whitey Bulger as unofficial mayor of Southie - still influences much of Boston today in ways that felt familiar. The details of the story filled in a lot of historical gaps for me that really helped me understand my adopted hometown much better.
McDonald's writing style is clean and straightforward, and his story needs no embellishment. Though he did have family members involved with drugs, violence, and crime, he so clearly lays out the paths that led his brothers down these roads that it's almost impossible to imagine how they could have made different choices. And his mother's incredible strength and commitment to protecting her children in the face of some of the worst situations a mother can imagine is breathtaking. As a parent, I can only hope I would be as strong and steady for my children in the face of similar threats.
I'm having nightmares about some of the stories he told, but I couldn't put it down. I'm still wishing it wasn't over.