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Channel: memoir – BC Bookmarks

Moments of illumination along El Camino de Santiago

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Maggio_estrellasIn a new memoir, Boston College alumna Suzanne Maggio shares the story of her 500-mile trek along the Camino, Spain’s ancient pilgrimage. Although she wasn’t sure exactly what drove her to walk the Camino, Maggio felt the need for a reset as she contemplated the beginning of her 60th year. Estrellas: Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago (Adelaide Books, 2021) relates a journey that extends beyond the month of walking to one that brought Maggio inward to see the vital values of her heart. By writing about a handful of sparkling moments with the people she met along the way, Maggio challenges the reader to appreciate their own constellations of human connection. A licensed clinical social worker, Maggio is also a lecturer at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College. She is the author of The Cardinal Club, a finalist in both the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2020 IAN Book of the Year.


A journey through bulimia, depression, and anxiety

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castaneda-pork tacosBoston College alumna Yvonne Castañeda chronicles her journey through anxiety, depression, and an eating disorder in the new book, Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety (Santa Monica Press, 2022). In her memoir, Castañeda reflects on her upbringing as the daughter of immigrants, the adverse side effects of bulimia, and the sage advice that turned her life around. According to Castañeda, mental illness is often seen as taboo in the Latinx community, stopping people from seeking help. She hopes her story will resonate with other Latinx people who might be struggling with their own mental health issues. Castañeda earned a M.S.W. from Boston College School of Social Work in 2018 and is now on the BCSSW faculty. Her message is “that change is possible, that grace is possible, that healing is possible.” Read more in this Q&A from BCSSW.

Undercover in the underworld

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wedge-riding with evilFormer federal law enforcement agent Ken Croke tells the story of the two years he spent undercover infiltrating the infamous Pagan Motorcycle Club, a white supremacist biker gang, in the new book Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang (William Morrow/Harper Collins, 2022). Written with bestselling writer Dave Wedge, a Boston College alumnus, Riding with Evil delivers a nail-biting account of the secretive and brutal biker underworld—the unspeakable violence, extremism, drugs, and disgusting rituals. At great personal risk, Croke built a case that would eventually bring down the top members of the gang in a large-scale federal prosecution. Wedge’s other publications include Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture & Killing of America’s Most Wanted Crime Boss; The Last Days of John Lennon; and Boston Strong: A City’s Triumph over Tragedy.

Coming of age through grief and music

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moulton-dead dad clubBoston College graduate Katie Moulton tells the story of her coming of age through grief and the music of Tom Petty in her new audiobook memoir, Dead Dad Club. Moulton’s father, a former record store manager who passed on his love for rock-and-roll to his daughter, died unexpectedly from addiction shortly before Moulton’s 17th birthday. Moulton eventually moved to Bloomington, Indiana—the town where her parents began their love story—to write and work as a radio DJ, spinning records that defined her father, and her relationship to him. She grappled with the inevitable questions of one’s 20s: How should we relate to our families as we become our own people? Moulton’s story is a quintessentially American tale about family, grief, identity, and dependency. Moulton narrates Dead Dad Club, which features an original score by Evan Stephens Hall of Pinegrove. Moulton graduated from BC in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in English and concentration in creative writing. She is an educator, writer, and music critic. Her essays and articles have appeared or are forthcoming in New England Review, The Rumpus, Tin House, Catapult, Boulevard, Denver Post, Post Road, and Village Voice, among other outlets.

Fixing Broken Mirrors

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kim-broken mirrorsIn his newly published memoir, Fixing Broken Mirrors, 2022 Boston College graduate Taesung Kim recounts his lonely, traumatic childhood as the target of domestic abuse. Writing using the pen name Taesung, he also addresses his struggles with mental health issues. Storytelling is one of the ways Taesung says he was able to find acceptance and feel loved. He hopes his story, though dark and difficult, can offer hope to those who are facing loneliness or abuse. His memoir is also a challenge to readers to see that everyone has a story and many people carry around pain.

My Sister’s Keeper

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Leddy-memoirIn her haunting book The Perfect Other: A Memoir of My Sister (Harper, 2022), Boston College graduate Kyleigh Leddy recounts the fear, anguish, and heartbreak of losing a sister to mental illness. The book tells the story of the close bond between Leddy and her beloved older sister, Kait, and recounts how Kait’s adolescence was marked with a personality change, erratic and violent behavior, and ultimately a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Then, in 2014, 22-year-old Kait disappeared. Though her body was never found, security footage showed her walking to the peak of Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Bridge, where it is presumed that she jumped. Leddy’s book got its start as a piece she wrote during her senior year at BC that won the New York Times’ “Modern Love” college essay contest. In The Perfect Other, Leddy, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, hopes to reduce the stigma around mental health and help other families who—like hers—felt “voiceless and afraid.” Read more, including an excerpt from The Perfect Other, in Boston College Magazine. An interview with Leddy was published in People magazine.

The sweet life of Fr. Walter Smith

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smtih memoir cookbookIt’s not surprising that a memoir by a priest and psychologist who has spent six decades in the Society of Jesus would include numerous tales of significant people and events. The memoir of Boston College graduate Walter J. Smith, S.J., however, comes with an unexpected benefit for readers: It’s also a major cookbook. In addition to his wide-ranging career as a clinician, consultant, professor, department chair, dean, chancellor, trustee, and chief executive officer, Fr. Smith is an accomplished cook who once studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. His  book, Faith, Food, & Friendship: Reflections and Recipes from a Jesuit’s Abundant Life, is replete with 175 carefully crafted classic, original, or adapted recipes, all of which—from dal chawa, an Indian dish once recommended to him by Mother Teresa, to the ’21’ burger popularized by the iconic Manhattan speakeasy-turned-restaurant—in some way reflect his experiences preparing and savoring cuisine from around the world. A Boston native, Fr. Smith joined the Boston College Jesuit community in 2020, and currently teaches courses in lifespan pastoral care and counseling at the School of Theology and Ministry. Read more from BC News.

How to write a travel memoir

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schedneck+travelIf you ever wanted to write a travel memoir or capture a few stories from your vacations, Boston College graduate Jillian Schedneck has written a guide book to help you accomplish your goal. Write Your Travel Memoir: A Step-by-Step Guide was released earlier this year and offers tips on how to begin and end your story as well as how to introduce your quest and weave in backstory. Schedneck graduated from BC with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2002. She holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from West Virginia University, where she taught Composition and Rhetoric courses to undergraduates. Her own memoir, Abu Dhabi Days, Dubai Nights, is based on her experiences living and teaching university students in the United Arab Emirates.


Fathers and sons

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Russert-memoirMere weeks after Luke Russert, the only child of journalists Maureen Orth of Vanity Fair and Tim Russert of NBC News, graduated from Boston College in 2008, Tim Russert died unexpectedly. In a new memoir, Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself (Harper Horizon, 2023), Luke Russert writes about his exploration to find himself and his place in the world in the face of crushing expectations and grief. After his father’s death, Russert worked at NBC News, covering politics. But, he realized he had no good answer as to why he was chasing his father’s legacy. He left the network to set out on his own path. What began as several open-ended months of travel to decompress and reassess morphed into a three-plus-year odyssey across six continents to discover the world and, ultimately, to find himself. Look for Me There is both the vivid narrative of that journey and the emotional story of a young man taking charge of his life, reexamining his relationship with his parents, and finally grieving his larger-than-life father. Learn more in these interviews with Russert: People | TODAY Show | CBS | MSNBC | NBC Meet the Press

Trapped in the dysfunction of another’s addiction

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milk and whiskey“A child’s home should be the safest place for them, but it’s not when you live with an erratic, active alcoholic,” writes Timothy Burke, whose new memoir, Milk and Whiskey On Logan Way, recounts his traumatic coming of age in a public housing project in South Boston. A graduate of the BC School of Social Work, Burke writes about the anger, shame, and unbearable loneliness of growing up with an alcoholic father. Despite his resolute determination not to repeat his father’s behavior, Burke became addicted to alcohol. His story, however, is ultimately one of redemption. Through a 12-step program, he found recovery and has been sober for more than 30 years. Burke hopes Milk and Whiskey on Logan Way can offer hope and support to other survivors of trauma and abuse. Read more on BC News.





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