Description: Narrated by a young girl growing up in the coarsest, most hell-raising bar on Main Street, Rosendale, NY in the early 50s, Confessions of a Bar Brat, is an unforgettable memoir of a girl's day-to-day living with the effects of overt and covert abuse, sexual abuse, and parental neglect.
Brief description: Judith A. Boggess, MSC, is a writer, irreverent, sardonic award winning poet, artist in oils and in Native American giclee's. Confessions of a Bar Brat was inspired by an addiction to films that began at age six, when the Rosendale Theatre became her babysitter every night to keep her out of the family bar. Her writing is very visual, with an emphasis on dialogue and dramatic tension. Boggess is a spiritual counselor/clergy & art instructor. She is an active member of the Association of Native Americans of the Hudson Valley and known as Grandmother Judith Laughing Owl, Keeper of the Women's Drum. She teaches Native drumming & singing, and participates in ANA performances keeping the Native American heritage, dance and songs alive. In her spare time, she writes & paints. Boggess resides with her husband, Drew, Marlow Kitty, & Miakoda Westie, in the Catskills, NY, near Ticetonyk Mountain.
Review Quotes:
"An engrossing, engaging trip through a young girl's challenging '50s childhood. She exposes her secret self which exposes our secrets...the multiple abuses, the anger, the insights of love and hate...all beautifully expressed in the vernacular of the '50s. Full color, vivid writing which carries us seamlessly into this human life. Worth reading!"
--Ursula Zorika, MA, Special Ed., Adjunct SUNY New Paltz, Voracious Reader
"Confessions of a Bar Brat is a must read into appreciating the charm and richness of life in Rosendale in the late 40s to early 50s. The book entertains and importantly breathes life into Main Street, its peoples, and its businesses from days gone by; it is a valuable piece of living history and social commentary." --Bill Brooks, Rosendale Town Historian, Rosendale, New York