Beamish Boy: A Memoir of Recovery and Awakening - Softcover

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.

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

-Kirkus

". . .a fascinating, poetic memoir. . ."

-ForeWord Reviews

"Albert Flynn DeSilver's 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

". . .a great story [written] with a keen eye and ear. . ."

-Sarah Gorham, Founder & Publisher of Sarabande Books

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 Northern, California.