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Pub date December 2, 2020
ISBN 978-1648953026
Price $9.47 (USD) Paperback, $18.99 Hardcover, $2.37 Kindle edition
Revelatory and greatly inspiring, the former university professor, the Director of Pupil Personnel Services and District Superintendent of Schools, and veteran author, Garrahan chronicles his journey from a young boy born into a poverty-ridden, dysfunctional family unit to a wealthy, renowned educator. Born to a mentally unstable mother and an absentee alcoholic father, Garrahan spent the initial years of his childhood stealing food and working as a shoe polisher. After his mother’s mental breakdown, Garrahan found himself separated from his siblings and deposited in relatives’ care. But once he graduated from high-school, he lost that last home as well and was once again on his own. Back in New York, Garrahan found work at a yacht club and continued his education, securing master’s and doctoral degrees and went on to have an outstanding career as a university professor and the Director of Pupil Personnel Services and District Superintendent of Schools. Garrahan candidly details his parents’ struggles with mental illness and alcoholism, the siblings’ pain and trauma, his own roguish ways, the rage, and the loneliness. At the same time, he uncovers rewards of resilience and hard work. Garrahan’s account proves how compelling personal stories can be. This is a remarkable and heart-rending memoir that digs into the traumas of growing in a destitute, dysfunctional family. Readers seeking an inspiring tale of hardships and perseverance will be greatly rewarded.
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Categories: memoir, Non Fiction
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