A Me Grows in Brooklyn - Memories of an Irish Childhood

Life on 83rd Street in Bensonhurst revolves around stickball games, neighborhood friendships, and the unwritten rules of the block. But when Victor—a feared kid from outside the neighborhood—arrives with a reputation for violence and a habit of shaking down the kids on the street, the easy rhythms of childhood are disrupted. As Victor's influence grows, twelve-year-old Jerry is drawn toward an una...

In this next installment of Jerry Connelly’s autobiography, he spends a summer at a cottage in the Hamptons with his family, where the days are filled with beaches, rituals, and memories of his relatives, especially his Uncle Tom. But beneath the surface of the vacation runs a darker current, one that leaves him with a memory that will stay with him for life.

In this story, we return to 1970s Brooklyn for a funny, sharply observed portrait of family life, where the arrival of a new pet sets off a chain of domestic chaos. With warmth, wit, and vivid detail, the piece captures the unpredictable nature of childhood and the small, unforgettable moments that shape a household’s history.

Memories of My Father is a deeply personal memoir chapter about a boy’s changing understanding of his father’s pain, struggle, and strength. Beginning with a frightening homecoming after his father’s psychiatric hospitalization, the story traces the effects of alcoholism, depression, family trauma, and resilience across the years, while also capturing the small rituals and shared moments that kept...

A Me Grows in Brooklyn is a memoir chapter that follows a boy’s transformation from a child in Brooklyn public housing into a more confident student shaped by family, school, neighbors, and the vivid personalities around him. The story moves from the family’s leap into homeownership on 83rd Street to Catholic school, eccentric teachers,, and the unusual kindness of a next-door neighbor who becomes...

On Christmas Day in 1968, a five-year-old boy in Brooklyn unleashed a gift that would leave a lasting mark on his family. In this memoir chapter, a single childhood incident becomes the doorway into a bigger portrait of parents, grandparents, loss, and the complicated love that binds a family together. Equal parts funny, haunting, and deeply human, it’s a powerful listen