Confessions of a Bar Brat: Growing Up in Rosendale, New York: A Memoir
by Judith A. Boggess
Size: 6 x 9 | 424 pages
eBook / $9.99 | 978-1-944037-73-4
Hardcover / $9.99 | 978-1-944037-73-4
Paperback / $28.00 | 978-1-944037-66-6
About the book:
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. The story is told in a six to 12 year old colloquial dialect unflinchingly and honestly; it’s about the capacity of the human spirit to endure, to bloom, and to see humor in chaos.
The Rosendale Theatre is where she internalizes the actions of strong feminine movie role models, and learns to reject the influence of drunken antics of her mother, not fear the physical threats of violence by her father, and to question the dogma of the Catholic Church. After years of avoidance, an ironic epiphany frees her from a “mortal sin,” and sets her on a path of self-actualization.
Reviews:
"The truly amazing thing about Boggess’ memoir is not the sins of commission and omission committed by the adults, but the perspective. Through the her child eyes, we see not just the rottenness but the sweetness…I admit I’d like to read a sequel that tells of her teenage years and how she managed that, but it is satisfying enough to have the story end with the great flood of 1955."

Anne Pyburn Craig, BlueStone Press
"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
"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