Beamish Boy (I am not my story): A Memoir of Recovery and Awakening - Softcover

DeSilver, Albert Flynn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966943090 ISBN 13: 9780966943092

Publisher: Owl Press, The, 2012

Synopsis

Beamish Boy (I am not my story): A Memoir of Recovery & Awakening by Albert Flynn DeSilver

“. . .A beautifully written memoir. . .poignant and inspirational, comical and terrifying!”

—Kirkus

“I was raised in a clock tower with bats in the belfry.” So begins, Beamish Boy, the harrowing account of Albert Flynn DeSilver’s inspirational journey from suicidal alcoholic to Poet Laureate and beyond. Though growing up in material privilege in suburban Connecticut in the 1970’s and 80’s, Albert finds himself whirling through an emotional wasteland void of love, complicated by his mostly absent alcoholic mother, and raising by a violent Swiss-German governess. A dramatic downgrade in lifestyle right around adolescence further inspires a great attraction for alcohol, drugs, and a series of increasingly shocking adventures.

Filled with a luminous cast of characters, and told with searing honesty and ironic wit, Beamish Boy is a redemptive story of survival and letting go, as we eagerly follow Albert from one zany adventure and near-death experience to the next. He is run over by his best friend after blacking out in a driveway, contracts malaria in east Africa, and joins a psychedelic “therapy” cult, until he miraculously “finds” himself, through photography, poetry, and a hilarious “awakening” at a meditation retreat center, realizing finally, what it means to be fully alive, to truly love.

Beamish Boy charts a compelling spiritual journey, from violence and self-annihilation to creativity and self-realization. Not your typical addiction memoir, Beamish Boy reads more like a witty and poetic novel, offering a profound window into the human condition, complete with its tragedies and ecstasies—illuminating one man’s quest for an abiding perspective and lasting wisdom.

About this title

About the Author:

Albert Flynn DeSilver is an internationally published poet, author, artist, teacher, speaker, and writing coach. He served as the first Poet Laureate of Marin County, California from 2008-2010. Albert is the author of BEAMISH BOY: A MEMOIR, and several books of poetry including LETTERS TO EARLY STREET, and WALKING TOOTH & CLOUD, and his work has appeared in dozens of literary journals and anthologies worldwide. He presents at literary conferences nationally, directs a homecare agency, and teaches in the Teen and Family program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center near his home in Woodacre, California.

Review:

. . .A beautifully written memoir. . .poignant and inspirational, comical
and terrifying!

Kirkus

. . .a fascinating, poetic memoir. . .

ForeWord Reviews

DeSilver's seesawing journey from drug and alcohol addiction, filled with
epiphanies and backsliding, clarity and bewilderment, will keep readers
committed to his story. . .

Publishers Weekly

. . .lyrical writing powerfully delivered. . .full of adventure, truth,
pain, humor, as well as colorful characters. . .a page-turner that will
delight anyone who appreciates a good story.

TheRumpus.net (Rebecca Faust)

I picked up a copy of Beamish Boy began reading it the next day. I cannot
put it down. I wish it were shower proof so even standing under the full
pounding water I could continue reading. It is that good. That compelling.
It is harsh while at the same time poetic. It breaks your heart one moment
and then sends your spirit soaring the next. It is one of the rare books
that when finished I believe I will feel I am a better person for having
read it. And, it has made me laugh out loud.
Claudia Sternbach
Editor in Chief, Memoir Journal
Albert Flynn DeSilver¹s extraordinary story of second chances is about
cultivating a creative life of joy and generosity out of the ashes of fear,
doubt, and trauma.

Marci Shimoff, New York Times bestselling author, Love for No Reason and
Happy for No Reason

"Sometimes we have to go to the darkest depths before we see the light.
"Beamish Boy" is the inspiring true story that shows a journey of pain and
self-destruction can lead to discovering that the peace and joy we yearned
for, is in us all along."

James Baraz, co-author of "Awakening Joy: 10 Steps That Will Put You On The
Road To Real Happiness", co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

A compelling story of a boy's climb out of pain and into poetry

Adair Lara, San Francisco Chronicle former columnist and author of Naked,
Drunk, & Writing

About this edition

• Publisher: Owl Press, The
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0966943090
• ISBN 13: 9780966943092
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 262