1888 Pressrelease – The book explores the unique culture of 1960s Boston.
BOSTON – Judith Kirwan Kelley provides a unique “lived” perspective on growing up in Dorchester, Massachusetts, during tumultuous socio-political times. Deeply affected by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s assassination, the decade of the 1960s dramatically shaped the contexts of living in America. The changing family and the social movements for Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Gay Rights, Rights of the Disabled, the sexual revolution, among other forms of cultural upheaval, all played their part in the life of one Originally from Dorchester (OFD).
The stories in Dorchester Girl are based on the author’s experiences, backed up by a comprehensive investigation of written sources that explore the complex history of mandatory school desegregation in Boston and other cultural phenomena occurring at the time. Kirwan Kelley’s detailed elaborations of family, neighborhood, and complex cultural dynamics reflect both the consistency and unpredictability of life. Intended to inform and entertain, Kirwan Kelley shows an appreciation of having come of age in Dorchester. With stories on kindergarten, the triple-deckers of Dorchester, and Catholic Church leadership, Dorchester Girl digs into life growing up in Dorchester and the chaotic political landscape. Each story is written with humor and passion.” I am, and always will be, a Dorchester girl at heart,” Kirwan Kelley said. Dorchester Girl can be purchased through SDP Publishing Solutions, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR — Kirwan Kelley was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1954, and lived there until the family joined in suburban migration, otherwise known as ” white flight,” in 1969. One of seven children in a typical Irish Catholic family, her relatives included, among others, Boston police officers, laborers, and homemakers. Kirwan Kelley, a scholar with a Brown University Ph.D. in Sociology, considers herself a lifetime creative writer. However, Kirwan Kelley’s most valuable roles are as a socially conscious, married mother of three adult daughters and Mimi to her six grandchildren. Storytelling has always been part of her life.