Blog wrap up

The book “All Souls” is a captivating work of literature, told from the stand point of the

author Michael MacDonald, a young man who grew up in the heart of South Boston. Throughout

this book, Michael shows tremendous courage as he struggles through debilitating conflicts. His

ability to get up and keep fighting for his life is astonishing, given his young age through most of

the meat of the book.

Michael is the third youngest child in his family and is one of ten brothers and sisters, out

of those ten only 6 survive, including Michael. The brutal deaths of his brothers are enough to

move the reader to tears. From two murders, to a suicide, and the death of a baby, MacDonald

envelops his story with raw emotion that could make a grown man cringe. The events that occur

are almost implausible. The MacDonald family is hit with such tragedy that is repeated at a such

a regular rate throughout Michael’s adolescence into young adult hood, that it is truly hard to

believe at times. However, the fact that this type of story was typical for most everyone that lived

in Southie during the 70’s and early 80’s verifies that MacDonald is one of thousands who

experienced the pure terror that was South Boston.

Racism, drugs, and violence are three concrete themes that play a major role throughout

the entire story. Most of the chapters are based on one or all of these and without them, the book

would not exist. The violence and racism described can be hard to read at times for those that

don’t have a high tolerance for vulgar language, or violent criminal acts, but lessons can be

learned if the reader can be open minded enough to get through it. The book is a tough read in

the sense that the tragedy is overwhelming and one might have to put it down for a short time,

and recover emotionally before picking it up again. The sense of family and loyalty throughout

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the community are also felt by the reader, and MacDonald does an incredible job of using

inserting the idea of loyalty in Southie in each chapter without making it feel monotonous.

The use of language, and the mood created by MacDonald are also very specific to this

book. It feels as though the author is sitting down with the reader for coffee and telling his life

story. It makes the book enjoyable to read, and relatable, allowing the reader to feel vulnerable

and put themselves in MacDonald’s shoes. It is easy to get attached to each character described,

given the love that is displayed through the author’s descriptions.

Not only is this an inspiring story of courage and strength but it speaks volumes to the

reader. It has the ability to speak directly to a readers heart and makes one want to take action

after reading it. The fact that MacDonald has the ability to write well enough to make someone

want to change is a compliment to his ability as a writer and his decency as a human being. I

highly recommend this book to any reader, it fits into many genres when you dig deep enough

and is an informative, without being too overwhelming, piece of literature.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed “All Souls” by Michael Patrick MacDonald and that makes me feel a bit bad. How can I enjoy such a tragic, true tale about the pain someone else went through his or her whole childhood? I think the way in which I enjoyed was more in the way that it made me grateful and opened my eyes. Not that I wasn’t already before, but it expounded my gratitude for the life I am lucky enough to have. Of course, you always hear stories that leave you feeling like you should feel happy fate was on your side, but until you read a whole narrative like this one, those feelings only last for so long. I feel like this is one of those books that’s really going to stay with me, and I’ll be thinking about it years from now.

It amazes me just how strong all of the characters in it were; they had to be. Ma had ten children and did everything in her power to support them. Some would criticize her and say, “Well, stop having children,” but she loved every single one of them with her whole heart and didn’t back down when someone challenged her children’s safety. Ma wasn’t the only strong character though, I feel like Michael is truly strong to be able to come out the other side of his childhood relatively clean. He didn’t fall into any of the things everyone else in the Old Colony and other similar neighborhoods seemed to. Of course he wasn’t innocent and did partake in some underage drinking, drugs, and violence, but I feel like when you look at the bigger picture, he was able to pull himself together for his family and return to school. Not only that put he took his misfortune and pain and used it to motivate him. He became an activist. I feel like many of people can learn a lot from Michael with this book, and I know I’m certainly left inspired by his perseverance.

Race

I think it's truly interesting to learn about something like racism that happened not only close to home in Boston, but all over America. When “forced housing” in Old Colony started to take place, the news said they were expecting a ‘blood-bath.”  Originally, Old Colony was mainly an area for white, Irish Americans. Considering all the racial tension that had been taking place earlier in the book, it was a big deal when the BHA and Mayor Flynn let blacks, Hispanics, and Asians move into the apartments of Old Colony. While there certainly was some tension in the beginning, it got to a point where black, white, and Hispanic mothers all sat together on the stoops watching their children playing. Ma even invited some Puerto Ricans over to the apartment but they didn’t understand a word she was saying and looked more scared of her than anything else. It's almost like once the different races were forced to live together they sort of stopped the racial war that was taking place, it was easier to just let go of any grudges and to live in peace.

I already talked about how in the last chapter of the book, white women welcomed black and Hispanic women to the vigil with open arms and that was something that really stood out to me. Earlier in the book, people couldn't overstep the boundaries into another neighborhood without getting beat up for being a different race than the one popular in that neighborhood. To see people put aside their differences and their lifetime of hate to grieve together says something loud and clear. It says that it gets to a point where you realize everyone is human, and there at that vigil everyone noticed that they weren't the only ones in Boston suffering after losing someone they loved.

For All Souls

As depressing as the whole story seemed to be there's something certainly touching about the All Soul's vigil. Michael opens the book discussing it in the first chapter, and also closes the book discussing it and I felt like this was a very good way to bookend (no pun intended...) the whole story. The thought of hundreds of people of varying races gathering together to remember those they loved that died too young is interesting to me. The fact that these people were all different races is important to remember. There was much fighting, tension, and hate between races at the time. For all of them to gather together for one cause is magnificent. Michael even talks about how a few black and Hispanics pulled up in taxis and he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but when white women welcomed these minorities with hugs, he was relieved.
I thought ending the last chapter of the book similarly to the way he opened the book was a beautiful tactic. And he certainly ended it on a memorable note saying:
"'These candles burn for my brothers,' I stopped and took a deep breath. Then I spoke up. "Davey, Frankie, Kevin, and Patrick…” And for all souls."

Corrupt Law Enforcement

I'm finding the chapters about Stevie's arrest and trial really interesting. The corrupt law enforcement is just crazy to me and I can't believe cops and detectives used to (and perhaps still are???) so shady. When Stevie was arraigned for alleged first-degree murder of his best friend, detectives against Stevie lied and schemed to try to frame Stevie to look guilty. They wanted the fame and glory of getting the craziest murders, and they would luck out with Stevie because he was white and no one could claim racism as had happened in the past. They created a fake transcript of Stevie’s call to the police writing ‘I shot Tommy!” on it, but when Stevie's lawyer got a hold of the real recording, Stevie never said those words. They pronounced the gunpowder residue testings inconclusive when in reality they pretty clearly showed that there was no gunpowder on Stevie or his clothing. Other cops went on stand in the courtroom and lied about Stevie’s mental state after calling 911. They said he seemed emotionless and stoic when in reality he was crying and shaking. It's just crazy to think that the people who are supposed to protect citizens and uphold the law can sometimes be the ones scheming and conniving against the truth. In the end Stevie gets off innocent, but only after serving a sentence in juvenile detainment, and Michael begins to dedicate his life to activism.

Chapters 10 & 11

THESE CHAPTERS ARE CRAZY.

In chapter 10 Ma takes Seamus and Stevie and moves to Colorado. She thinks it will be a better life for them, and uproots them though they really don’t want to go. So it is only MacDonald and his brother Johnnie in the apartment in Southie, though MacDonald is still sleeping around at friends houses in Boston because he doesn’t want to be in that atmosphere. Eventually the boys, Seamus and Stevie want to come home for a visit and that is when all Hell breaks loose.

Upon the arrival of the boys, Stevie was hanging out with his best friend one day and they were looking at his dads gun, when his friend Tommy accidentally shot himself. Stevie wasn’t in the room when it happened, he was in the room next to it, however the police did such a shitty interrogation and charged this 12 year old (I believe he is 12) boy with the murder of his best friend. This book I can honestly say is the only book that has ever made me cry. The devastation and injustice in this book is overwhelming. None of the evidence even matches what they need to charge the kid and he is charged anyway. It’s almost unbelievable the liberties these cops take upon themselves. They are real scum bags, but I have witnessed plenty of cops doing a lot of shady things, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it, you feel helpless. The people that are the only ones who can help you, are also the ones deceiving you.  Steven was charged with murder, but the story he gives makes him sound completely innocent. However the police don’t follow up on anything he says, and they don’t investigate any clues that could positively eliminate Steven from the crime, and even when they get the chance to they just ignore it, or pretend that it’s not enough evidence to dismiss the case.

Eventually the cops said they had a tape that could prove Steven was guilty, but when the tape came out it was a complete lie. They had nothing. During Stevens trials, their grandfather dies, but everyone stays strong and Stevens case is dismissed. It is a truly unreal story. I would highly recommend this book because every single page you think to yourself “this cant be true” but it IS! And it’s amazing that someone made it out of that situation a success.

Anyway, the next chapters go on to talk about how MacDonald becomes a huge non-violence activists. He gets people to hand in guns and take action against violence all around Boston. The end of the book comes with MacDonald in a church on “All Souls” night. A night where people say the names of their loved ones who have been lost to violence or drugs, etc, and he says the names of his four brothers that have been lost “Kevin, Frankie, Davey, and Patrick” – It is one of the most moving, informative, and beautifully sad books I have ever read. It wasn’t my first choice, but I’m glad I ended up reading this one.

Chapter 9

So in this chapter Ma is going crazy trying to do nice things and the right thing for everybody in Southie. Giving homeless people clothes, trying to get the bottom of crimes, she is just all over the place. She’s really trying to make a difference not only in her life, but in her two youngest sons lives Seamus and Stevie. MacDonald is trying to escape from Southie. He starts sleeping over other people houses that live out of town, he’s pretty much trying to be anywhere that doesn’t involve anything that has to do with Southie, and the coolest thing was that he wasn’t running away, he was really trying to make a name for himself. He started going to Umass Boston. It seemed that Southie itself was starting to turn around too. Police raids on drugs were happening more frequently, and people in the justice system were actually looking for answers instead of just trying to cover things up, or pretend they had answers that they didn’t.

This chapter pretty much leads up to the fact that Southie had been fooled the entire time by local gangster Whitey Bulger. Instead of keeping the streets safe like everyone thought he had been doing, he was running a ton of cocaine through the streets. Cocaine that killed lots of kids and lots of parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. The realization really hit Southie and everyone was pretty pissed off. It’s almost incredible that it took so long for police to really catch Whitey, and it makes the reader wonder what conspiracies were taking place.

It was evident to the reader what Whitey was doing, and it would be even if it wasn’t told from the author’s viewpoint just because we know what he’s done to this day. But the way that MacDonald writes about Whitey and how much everyone loved him and admired him is really an incredible thing, seeing how much damage this man happened to wreak upon Southie.

Chapter 8

This chapter is mostly about MacDonalds older brother Frankie, who happens to be my favorite character in the book. Frankie is a “Stand up guy” as the chapter is called, and that description is spot on. He looks out for everyone and really tries to do the right thing all the time. He never dabbles in drugs, he is always working out in the gym trying to better himself, and he tries to keep everyone in his family safe, he’s the neighborhood hero and he doesn’t have one enemy. He’s also one of the only siblings pulling in some money in an honest way, by boxing. He even got closer to his drug dealing brother Kevin just to keep an eye on him.

Later on in the chapter, Frankie is killed. He is involved in a robbery that takes place and is murdered. Ma is heartbroken, so is all of Southie. Apparently Frankie had gotten into cocaine for a short time, and he was coked out while doing the robbery. Frankie’s wake was the biggest Southie had ever seen, everyone attended. Eventually Ma is getting involved in trying to figure out Frankie’s murder, she wants the people of Southie to speak up but no one will.

Kevin, early on in the chapter, gets a girlfriend later in the chapter, she gets pregnant and they’re married, he is on the straight and narrow and everyone is proud of him. Toward the end of the chapter, Kevin starts coming around back to Southie more often and leaving his wife and kid at home, it becomes obvious that he is struggling with Frankie’s death. Not too long after he starts hanging around, Kevin is arrested for robbing a store. He goes to a prison for the criminally insane and at one point MacDonald is saying a prayer for him, about filling Kevin with a white light and healing him forever. Almost immediately Ma receives a letter from Kevin saying exactly that. That he had seen a white light and was beginning to feel okay about Frankie’s death.

The craziest part about this chapter comes at the end. Kevin is found three months later hanging from a bed sheet from the prison bathroom, and the last person to visit him was a detective that was friends with Whitey Bulger, and there had been a rumor going around that Kevin was a tattle tale. The police said it was very strange that an officer would visit so late at night, and it leaves the reader questioning if Kevin was murdered, or if he actually hung himself. It’s hard to believe he hung himself, given the letters he had been writing about how he was healing emotionally, but at this point in the story nothing is even shocking anymore. The entire story is almost unbelievable, so this just adds to the madness.

The Strongest Soul

I think Ma deserves a post dedicated solely to her. She is the glue that keeps the family together, and while she's less than perfect (actually pretty far from it), her strength is undeniable. This woman has dealt with it all; abusive husbands, living in poverty in the projects, losing four children to tragic causes. The list could go on. But throughout the story, Michael paints his mother as the most colorful and feisty character of the book.

She's always doing everything in her power to support her ten children, even if that requires a little bit of scheming. She works hard singing and playing her accordion in bars to make money, but is known to 'trick the system' for her children. Early on in the book, Michael tells of how a government official used to have to come visit their home to make sure they were really eligible for food stamps. While they were no doubt living in poverty, they did have things like old furniture they found and a TV. When the government official would come they'd have to hide all the things that made them look like they had "too much" money. They would put a cloth over the television to make it look like a small end table.

It's very clear how dedicated she is to her children. When Frankie is killed she stops at nothing to find out the truth behind his murder. The things she does and the people she harasses for answers show she nothing if not brave. And every time one of her children dies, you feel your heart breaking along with hers.

Although she's been through the most horrific of things, she never loses her humor. That's what she's certainly the most interesting character of the book. She's such a complex character but you find yourself rooting for her in all situations. The woman has got guts and she's willing to do just about anything for her children. It's amazing to read about.

Chapter 11: Where it All Ends

Turns out, the last sentence of my previous blog post was false. MacDonald moved back to Southie. Since moving back, people around Southie think that MacDonald is just a ‘yuppy’ until he recognizes them and reminds them that he is a MacDonald. MacDonald is also organizing a group of mother’s (mostly those who have lost children) who are against violence in Southie. This group of mother’s that Michael organized made strides towards reducing violence in Southie by supporting a gun buyback project. In the final part of this chapter, All Souls brings the reader back to where it began, All Souls Night.  This time, instead of saying ‘the kids’ Michael says their names (Davey, Frankie, Kevin, and Patrick). 

Chapter 10: Tommy's Suicide

After Ma moves to Colorado, she let’s Michael have the apartment. Although he now has his own apartment, he continues to stay at his friends houses. Michael’s brother, Johnnie also returns from the Navy and stays with Michael. Since Johnnie just got back from the Navy, he was in possession of guns (remember that for later in the post).

            Meanwhile, in Colorado, Ma writes, and calls Michael and tells him that she is enjoying Colorado; however his brothers, Seamus and Stevie tell Michael that they hate it. Since they both hated it in Colorado, Michael’s brothers visited Southie.

            During the boys visit to Southie, Steve’s close friend Tommy is shot while with him. This caused a great amount of turmoil, because Steve was then accused of killing Tommy when in reality, Tommy found one of Johnnie’s guns and killed himself. Steve was found guilty of murder, and was then sent to the Department of Youth Services (DYS). Although, it was later revealed that some key information was missing from the trial. For one, in the 911 transcript it says that Steve says that he shot Tommy, however when Michael listens to the actual tape, Steve never says that. There is also ballistic evidence that proves that Steve did not pull the trigger, however the courts ruled that the evidence was not solid enough. Michael recommends that the police wanted to convict Steve so that they had a scapegoat, and would look good for solving a murder. Eventually, after Steve gets out of DYS the case is reviewed by lawyers (with all legitimate evidence considered) and Steve is proven innocent. Having read all of this, it gives me the sense that maybe the residents of Southie weren’t wrong for not trusting the police. This is just further evidence of the level of distrust between Southie and the government. Once all of this happens, Michael decides to move away, vowing to never return to Southie.  

Chapter 9: Life After the Kids

            In an attempt to get over the death of her children, Ma went to hairdressing school. She would travel to homeless shelters to cut hair, and give anyone she knew a makeover. Eventually while doing this, Ma became friends with other mothers who lost their children. Michael also stopped hanging around Southie, doing everything he could to stay away from the violence. This is a stark contrast from earlier in the book, when the MacDonald’s lived in Jamaica Plain and the kids were trying to create chaos in the neighborhood.

            MacDonald still praises Whitey for trying to keep the streets of Southie clean. The way that Michael writes, it hints that Southie is starting to find out some of the things that Whitey has been doing.

            Kathy (who moved to New Hampshire) moves back home in this chapter as well. The reason for this is that she burned her house down and going insane, saying things like “Have you ever heard of North America?”. After moving back, Kathy disappeared for a while, then came back pregnant with a girl, later to be named Fatima Maria.

            Michael also added in a line that was somewhat surprising to me, he said “Jesus, this is a great place to grow up”. I thought it was weird that after everything that happened, MacDonald still thinks that growing up in Southie was great. Although Michael felt this way his mother was not a fan of the Southie way of life after the kid’s death, so she decided to move to Colorado with Maria, Seamus, and Stevie.

            One idea that MacDonald shares several times is before someone dies, someone has a dream about it. In the case of Kevin, Ma had a dream about him dying so she went out and bought a new black dress for his funeral before he even died. In this chapter, Michael has a dream about a boy named Timmy dying, and a few days later he was killed. I don’t know if these are weird coincidences, but I thought it was worth mentioning. 

The Fate of Young Southie

So I've reached the chapter in which yet another tragedy befalls our main guy, Michael Patrick, and his family. Thus far we've heard of the death of his mother's baby, Patrick Michael, who Michael Patrick was named after. We've also read about Michael's older, mentally unstable brother, Davey committing suicide. And just about every other page of the book held other terrible things. In the chapter I just read, entitled 'Holy Water', it appears as if Michael's sister, Kathy, is following in Davey's footsteps. She appears to have "thrown herself" off of a building, but the family has doubts and believes she was really pushed off of the building during a fight over drugs. She survives the fall but is worse for wear.
This chapter was particular memorable for me because Michael talks about all of the people, mostly Kathy's young friends, who visit her in the hospital. However not only does Michael simply say they visited her, he goes on to describe how in the near future each of them met their fate in some sad, tragic way. Timmy Baldwin, who Kathy dated, was shot twice in front of a bar. Julie Meaney, a friend of Kathy's, walked into the waters at a beach and drown. Tommy Dooley was murdered by his own girlfriend's family. This chapter just reinforced the depressing and desolate feelings the beginning of the book incited. It's a reminder (as if you could forget while reading) how dangerous and corrupt certain areas of Boston were. It's crazy reading how all these people visited Kathy, unaware that they'd be following in her footsteps (so to speak) and end up in the hospital as well, or even worse, the morgue.

Chapter 8: Frankie and Kevin

Much to my surprise, chapter 8 was rather depressing (please sense the sarcasm). Michael starts off by with a brief article touting his Frankie’s success as a boxer. Because he was such a good boxer, Frankie became a huge role model in the Southie community. Michael pointed out how serious Frankie was about being someone that the Southie kids could look up to. Frankie was never caught drinking or doing drugs, and made a point to not hang around individuals who did. Although Frankie was coached by many of Whitey’s ‘people’ Michael says he was never owed by Whitey. Although Frankie was such an important figure in the Southie community, he was still a family man, trying to help Kevin get away from his druggy lifestyle, and driving Ma around in his fancy car. So, you can imagine my surprise when Frankie while he was performing a bank robbery. The way Michael made Frankie out, it seemed like nothing bad was going to happen to him. But at some point, a few months before his death, Michael says he got into drugs. Apparently it was all downhill from there.

            Despite all of Frankie’s help, Kevin life was still going downhill. Unlike Frankie, Kevin was involved with Whitey and his gang. Kevin had been to jail for possession of counterfeit money, and had been visited by a few of Whitey’s people (too keep him from telling where he got the money from). Kevin got out of jail, only to end up back in there for robbing a jewelry store. While in jail, Kevin apparently tried to kill himself which resulted in him getting sent to (get this) Bridgewater State Hospital….I’ve heard of that place before! A little while after he arrives, Kevin ends up successfully committing suicide. The way that Michael described Kevin’s death was really intriguing to me. He makes a point of saying that the night of Kevin’s death (around11:30) someone came to visit him, and then about an hour-an hour and a half later, Kevin was found dead. Keep in mind, Kevin was involved with Whitey. I don’t think MacDonald was adding this bit of information in for shits and gigs. I think it’s interesting that, if what Michael is recommending is true, it shows how well Whitey ran his operation. Oh, and did I mention that Whitey was Kevin’s best man at his wedding?

            So yes, this chapter was slightly depressing with two of the kids dying, but I thought it was SO cool that there was a little connection to Bridgewater. When we think of Whitey Bulger, we mostly think Boston, but to think that there were mobsters paying visits in Bridgewater is, like I said before SO COOL. 

Chapter 7: Kathy's Coma

This chapter entitled “Holy Water” is basically a web of everyone the MacDonald family knows, dying. Before MacDonald gets into talking about everyone and their brother dying, he throws in a quick anecdote about his mother getting shot while in the kitchen. Although it was amusing (because she refused to go to the hospital, instead she wanted to go to the pub) it didn’t really relate to the rest of the chapter.

Michael’s sister, Kathy, ends up FALLING off of the roof while she is on drugs. I emphasize falling because Kathy supposedly got in an argument with someone and was pushed, while Davey voluntarily jumped. Kathy does not die from the fall; however she is in a coma for quite some time. While she is in a coma Michael visits her almost every day, and goes through the individuals who visit her. Many of the people that Michael mentions are dead, however MacDonald does mention (in a few cases at least) that although there were witnesses to some of the murders, the cases were never solved because nobody came forward. This emphasized the fact that Southie loyalty was a great virtue. If you were a ‘rat’ then you would most likely end up dead.

At one point, while Kathy was still in a coma, Michael’s grandfather went to visit Kathy. When he did, he brought holy water to throw on her in hopes of it bringing her out of the coma. After yelling at the nurses with…colorful language, he threw holy water on Kathy did the whole “if you can hear me, move your right hand” thing. Turns out she moved her right hand. When I read this, it brought to mind a scene in Friends, when Ross and Monica’s grandma dies then while they’re saying goodbye she comes back to life, and then dies again. Now that I know you guys love Friends, I’m not afraid to make these comparisons. Watch out.

About a year later, Kathy was up and walking (with the help of a walker). To emphasize the violence of Southie, MacDonald mentions that if she’s walking, most of the time it’s to go to a funeral. Given the way that this book was going, I fully expected Kathy to die, however her coming out of the coma was a pleasant surprise. But I’m sure someone will die in the next couple chapters and bring me down again.

Chapter 6: Davey's Demise

There is nothing cheerful about chapter six. Nothing. At all.

The very first line of chapter six begins with one of Michael’s brother, Joe, bragging about how he almost got shot the night before. If that had been me, I probably would have: A) Been crying in the corner and B) Never go outside again. Ever. But apparently in Southie this is just business as usual. Then, MacDonald writes about a situation where one of their neighbors nearly stabs his children to death, leaving them for Ma and the kids to take care of. This highlights SOME of the violence MacDonald had to deal with as he was growing up.

The MacDonald family also experienced a drug raid. When I first read of the men in black breaking into their house, I thought it was just a gang of kids robbing them, but eventually I realized that the men in black were cops. Apparently I was alone when I questioned this, MacDonald writes in this chapter that he wasn’t completely certain if the men were cops or just a group of gang members.

By far the most upsetting part of this chapter was Davey’s death. I would be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming, but it was still very sad. As I’ve said in other posts, Davey had schizophrenia and was put in Mass. Mental. Although he was released, you could definitely tell he was off. Throughout this chapter Davey was clearly not right, sitting on the beach wall with his head down, screaming “Jesus, I love you” down the street, and walking across the rooftop. To say this was completely unexpected would be a lie.

In previous chapters MacDonald wrote about violence against other groups such as the police and blacks, however in this chapter violence within the community is brought to the attention of the reader.  

Chapter 5: The Wonderful World of Whitey

            About a year ago, the hard core criminal we know as Whitey Bulger was caught. Many of us know what Whitey is all about, but few have the personal experience of Michael MacDonald.

            In MacDonald’s neighborhood, Whitey Bulger is an idol, someone that everyone wants to have a connection with. This is far from the way we view Whitey today. At this time, there was a great amount of respect for all of the help that he provided for Southie (along with protection). Little did they know, he was really screwing over anyone connected to him through his relationship with the FBI. Reading what MacDonald had to say about Bulger was interesting because of what we know now.

            MacDonald’s Nana also passes away in this chapter, however when I read it, it felt like it was just thrown in there. Up to this point, I thought MacDonald’s relationship with his grandparents was strong, but when they went to have food and drinks with the other funeral guests, their grandfather shooed. He didn’t want his friends to know that his grandchildren were illegitimate. On one hand, this says a lot about family pride but on the other hand, I feel realy bad for the children because none of them know their father, and their grandparents are ashamed of them for something that is beyond their control.

            I also found that in this chapter, a lot of drugs start popping up, Michael’s siblings begin selling them, and eventually Michael himself begins to sell ‘red pills’ when he goes to the disco.

Although this chapter provided some interesting new information, I found it to be more of an “in-between” chapter

Chapter 7: Holy Water

The beginning of this chapter starts off with MacDonald’s mother getting shot by a stray bullet that flew through a window. Some kid was shooting off rounds across the street because he was high off angel dust and she wasn’t the only one who got shot. This is a true testament to how strong MacDonald’s mother was, almost to a fault. She had been shot, was taken in an ambulance and had managed to get away once they pulled up to the emergency room, she ran to Emerald Isle. Where she played her accordion to make money. The stories about this woman are so far out there that they almost don’t seem real.

The story takes a tragic turn when the older, drug addicted sister Kathy takes a fall off of the roof. She was completely “dusted” out on Angel Dust and the story still isn’t clear on how she fell. Some say there was a dispute between her and her boyfriend, others don’t believe it. Either way Kathy lived and was in a coma for months. Her friends were constantly visiting and Michael (The author) was constantly by her bed side. He started skipping school to go be with his sister and sit with her while she just lay there. His loyalty was unwavering. This was another chapter that made me cry because each friend that came to visit Kathy, later in life ends with them tragically dying. It is almost inconceivable what happens to these kids, and it’s absolutely devastating to hear their stories. 

One nurse who constantly checked up on Kathy ended up being strangled to death by her boyfriend. Timmy Baldwin who visited Kathy all the time was shot twice in the head a few years after Kathy fell while sitting in his car. There were hundreds of witnesses and no one talked. Down the road the shooter died the same way that he had killed Timmy. Julie Meaney visited Kathy, and a few years later drowned herself at Carson Beach. Frankie McGirk, who visted with Julie was stabbed to death over a drug debt. Tommy Dooley visited, and was later beaten to death with a lead pipe. Eddie LeClair was run over and murdered. Okie O’Connor hung himself. Michael Dizzo and his nephew Stephen Dizzo were found by Stephen’s 13 year old sister who found them on the floor. Months later, Kathy woke up.

This chapter was a huge example about Southies loyalty for each person living in it. Between the loyalty that Kathy’s friends had for her, enough to constantly visit, and the fact that many people never ratted anyone out, the examples are overwhelming. Southie’s loyalty, as I’ve said in previous blogs, is a fault of theirs. However in this chapter, Kathy’s friends prove to be a good example of what Southie Pride and loyalty really is. This chapter was tragic, but had an underlying message of chaos and also the healing powers of reliability in friendships.

Chapter 6: August

Chapter 6 was one of the saddest things I’ve ever read. I usually don’t cry reading books but this book had me going at least three different times. The tragedy about this book is that everything in it is true and that it didn’t just happen to one family, this is just one families story.

This chapter focuses mainly on MacDonald’s older brother Davey. Davey was admitted to a mental hospital and was definitely mentally unstable. He eventually was released to come home on weekends and at some point I think left the hospital entirely because he began living with his older brother Frankie (the boxer and pride of Southie) – Davey was really beginning to lose it in this chapter, he wasn’t only a little nutty anymore, he was entirely out there, but things started to look better for him once Frankie got more involved in his life. He took pride in his appearance, began working out, and even proclaimed he wanted to meet a woman.

Earlier in the chapter violence took place but teaches the reader about the bond between Southie folk and not being a rat. This bond was also Southie’s downfall. It stopped families from getting justice and I’m sure was one of the top reasons for suicide as well as drug addictions, holding onto guilt will do that to some people. One of their neighbors stabbed both of his kids with a knife, a thirteen and a sixteen year old. The EMTs were called and witnesses were everywhere. As the kids were loaded onto the ambulance, the father just stood there like they weren’t even his kids and absolutely no one ratted him out. The father got off scot-free, and the boys were both fine and never told a soul about it. This is baffling because I would never even be able to sleep in the same house as someone who stabbed me, even if it were my father, but Southie’s pride was too big and it got the best of them in the end.

Later on in the chapter the MacDonalds apartment got raided because Kevin was still selling drugs and Davey was there to witness the whole thing. Frankie took the fall for Kevin and was sent off to the Marines. Davey was depressed until Frankie came back and eventually everything went back to normal. One night Davey threw himself off the roof of the apartment complex and died later that night in the hospital due to complications.

One of the parts of this story really stuck out to me. It showed me the absolute selfishness of Southie. MacDonald was minding his younger brothers when Davey threw himself off the roof. He could see Davey from the window but couldn’t leave his brothers alone, so a girl came upstairs to watch the boys. However when she realized she couldn’t bring them downstairs as well, she left, leaving MacDonald stuck in the apartment, unable to do anything except call the police for help while she watched “the show.” The selfishness of these people really got brought to the light after this incident. No one “ratted” anyone out, when they could have stood for justice. No one helped anyone, and everyone had to focus on their own wants and needs. This is fine if you’re trying to survive, or eat, or feed your kids, but when it comes down to common human decency, Southie was lacking BIG TIME and it really pisses me off.