The Constant Outsider, Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic is an autobiography. It gives readers a taste of what it was like living and working in South Boston and Dorchester during their most turbulent decades in recent history. It was the time of Whitey Bulger, forced busing, and more.
While the book is a true story of personal struggle and triumph, there is more to it than that. It’s an enlightening example of how environment, the influence of others, and the choices we make, drastically affect the outcome of our life. These are things that form who we are today.
Are your book club members willing to try something different? Members will be asked to look back and document their own pasts, if they so choose.
I truly believe that each person is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person explained. I’m not suggesting that each club member will write an entire book, although some may decide to do so.
At several points within The Constant Outsider, I’ve included a few blank pages, reserved for “Reader’s Notes.” They are there to be utilized by each reader to answer the questions which I put forth. Those who are willing will examine their pasts, looking back at the choices, people, and environments that significantly impacted their lives.
Each of us has had at least one person who greatly influenced us in either a good or bad way. You would write about those individuals, and also the decisions and circumstances that changed the direction of your life. By doing so myself, I gained a clear understanding of why and how I became the person I am today. It was a very enlightening process that I wish others to experience.
Whether or not participants share their results with anyone is totally up to them. But sharing does have its benefits. It helps those around us understand why we became the way we are. Who were our role models? With that knowledge, they may become more tolerant of our flaws.
I would love to sit in on the “Results Meeting” as those who wish to, share their thoughts, insights, and experiences.
If your book club finds this experiment interesting, I will offer club members a discount on soft or hardcover books. Kindle users could make their “Reader’s Notes” in a small notebook. That notebook could very well end up becoming a wonderful part of your family history for future generations to explore.
A college student contacted me to thank me for writing this book. It was quite a nice surprise! He told me that after his father read The Constant Outsider, he jotted down some pretty intense experiences from his youth. The son told me he would never have known these things about his father's past if his dad had not been inspired to share them. The young man said, “I see my father in a whole new light now. I gained a new respect and understanding of my father. I can’t believe some of the things he’s done, and things he’s been through.”
That young man made me feel that writing this book was truly worthwhile.
To see if The Constant Outsider, Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic is a good fit for your club, use the “Search Inside” feature at the book’s www.Amazon.com page. Or, click “Read Excerpt” at my site, www.TheConstantOutsider.com.
E-mail Tom@TheConstantOutsider.com