Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in South Boston's Old Colony
housing project. After losing four siblings and seeing his
generation decimated by poverty, crime, and addiction, he became a
leading Boston activist, helping launch many antiviolence
initiatives, including gun-buyback programs. He continues to work
for social change nationally, collaborating with survivor families
and young people.
MacDonald won the American Book Award in 2000 and has written
numerous essays for the Boston Globe Op-Ed Page. His national
bestseller, All Souls, and his follow-up, Easter Rising- A Memoir
of Roots and Rebellion have been adopted by university curriculums
across the country.
[A] rare and compelling book . . . Highly passionate.—Liam Ford,
Chicago Tribune
"His anecdotes have the searing power of a redeemed sinner's fiery
sermon. His swift, conversational style sweeps you into his anger
and sorrow. He is a born rabble-rouser whose emotional power numbs
the reader's reason."—Charles Carberry, USA Today
"All Souls is a memoir filled with desperation and despair, but
there is also hope in it . . . MacDonald's discovery of his
vocation in neighborhood activism is a refreshing change from most
memoirs, which so often . . . are largely concerned with describing
an ascent to celebrityhood." —Julian Moynahan, New York Review of
Books
"Michael Patrick MacDonald takes us on a heartbreaking tour of his
South Boston family." —Frank McCourt, Irish America Magazine
"An incendiary, moving book that startles on nearly every page . .
. MacDonald's nimble prose and detailed recall of grim times long
past make for luminous reading; his hard-won conception of how
ghettoized poverty spawns localized violence, and the dignity he
brings to lives snuffed out in chaos, gives All Souls a moral
urgency usually lacking in current memoir or crime prose. A
remarkable work." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"All Souls leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but preserves the
heartbreaking details."—Brent Staples, New York Times Book
Review
"If you were charmed by Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes but wished
at times the author would have got out of the way of his own
beguiling style, try All Souls: A Family Story from Southie,
Michael Patrick MacDonald's guileless and powerful memoir of
precarious life and early death in Boston's Irish ghetto."—R. Z.
Sheppard, Time
"A must read . . . All Souls is poised to become one of the most
significant Irish American books of the era."—Irish Edition
“Time may take away a lot of things, but it can't take away our
stories. Twenty-five years ago Michael Patrick MacDonald wrote one
for the ages. All Souls is a book that you will carry everywhere,
most especially in that eternal rag and bone shop of the
heart.”
—Colum McCann, author of American Mother
“This extraordinary book is so many things at once. A tender,
shocking yet at times hilarious account of a beleaguered family and
community; a scorching indictment of the forces that conspired
against them; an elegy to lost brothers; a rallying call to hope.
It is hands down the best memoir I have ever read.”
—Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
“An honest, piercing tale—once you read it, you will never look at
our country the same way.”
—Geoffrey Canada, author of Fist Stick Knife Gun
"MacDonald has a gift for narrative, an eye for social detail, and
a voice of earned authenticity."
—Jack Beatty, Author of The Rascal
[A] rare and compelling book . . . Highly passionate.-Liam Ford,
Chicago Tribune
"His anecdotes have the searing power of a redeemed sinner's fiery
sermon. His swift, conversational style sweeps you into his anger
and sorrow. He is a born rabble-rouser whose emotional power numbs
the reader's reason."-Charles Carberry, USA Today
"All Souls is a memoir filled with desperation and despair,
but there is also hope in it . . . MacDonald's discovery of his
vocation in neighborhood activism is a refreshing change from most
memoirs, which so often . . . are largely concerned with describing
an ascent to celebrityhood." -Julian Moynahan, New York Review
of Books
"Michael Patrick MacDonald takes us on a heartbreaking tour of his
South Boston family." -Frank McCourt, Irish America
Magazine
"An incendiary, moving book that startles on nearly every page . .
. MacDonald's nimble prose and detailed recall of grim times long
past make for luminous reading; his hard-won conception of how
ghettoized poverty spawns localized violence, and the dignity he
brings to lives snuffed out in chaos, gives All Souls a
moral urgency usually lacking in current memoir or crime prose. A
remarkable work." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"All Souls leavens tragedy with dashes of humor but
preserves the heartbreaking details."-Brent Staples, New York
Times Book Review
"If you were charmed by Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes but wished
at times the author would have got out of the way of his own
beguiling style, try All Souls: A Family Story from Southie,
Michael Patrick MacDonald's guileless and powerful memoir of
precarious life and early death in Boston's Irish ghetto."-R. Z.
Sheppard, Time
"A must read . . . All Souls is poised to become one of the
most significant Irish American books of the era."-Irish
Edition
"An honest, piercing tale-once you read it, you will never
look at our country the same way."- Geoffrey Canada, author of
Fist Stick Knife Gun
"MacDonald has a gift for narrative, an eye for social detail, and
a voice of earned authenticity."-Jack Beatty, Author of The
Rascal
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