1959 - End of Childhood

Tagline:

1959 – END OF CHILDHOOD: Can you even imagine being eleven with two younger brothers abandoned by your parents? In the poor white neighborhoods of Kansas City, friends and neighbors risk their own security by offering shelter to us for six months. Through the eyes of a kid, you see the loss of childhood as he moves between poor families, always unsure about the future of himself and his brothers.

Book Description:

There are many incredibly unique stories about the journeys, adventures, abuses, emotions, and dreams of escape, as adult responsibilities settle on young shoulders. The setting is 1959. The boy is a baby-boomer witnessing the ravishes World War II had on its participants. You will experience a world unlike anything to be found today.

The series is a story about eyes suddenly being opened to desperation, despair, betrayal, and the effects these have on values. Very few escape the cycle of extreme poverty. Those who do know, "You can take the boy out of the neighborhood, but you can’t take the neighborhood out of the boy.”

Rags to Riches stories have always been popular with wide audience appeal. This story is about the American Dream. It will leave you saddened, entertained, inspired, and often bring a smile to your face. The Written for my Children series is a coming-of-age story, told through the eyes of a young boy burdened with two younger brothers while struggling to understand adult values and betrayal. 

Notes to Readers:

A male friend who read the first book told me, “I’m angry with you. It kept me up till 3:30 a.m. I had to see what happened next.” A female friend said, “Now I understand why it is you are so unique. I could never have guessed, and I don’t know how you survived.” 

WRITTEN FOR MY CHILDREN series is a memoir set in the poor neighborhoods of 1959 Kansas City. Seen initially through the eyes of eleven-year-old Billy, the series progresses through extreme hardships and exploitation caused by poverty; through high school years where basketball provides opportunities, and he finds love and marries; through Marine Corps boot camp abuse; until their first child is born in 1969.