Bøker av James Ryan

It is 1915. A great war is coming to America. You are in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, a bastion of ethnic German enterprise and culture, and struggling Irish laborers. German spies and saboteurs roam the city. Firebrand Irish soapbox orators inflame crowds with anti-war speeches. Paranoia, hatred, and politics rage in the streets. The social and economic fabric of the city begins to unravel. Enraged by the sinking of the Lusitania, pro-war thugs severely injure a German junk dealer and his grandson, young Tommy Muldoon. The boy's Irish nationalist father collaborates with German terrorists with disastrous consequences for himself and his family. Under this tumultuous backdrop, young Muldoon takes over the junk business and sets out to save his family, by day in the junkyard, by night taking boxing instruction from a Catholic priest.A sumptuous tapestry, interwoven with meticulously researched details, SHOUTS tells of the last days of the pre-World War I golden age. The richly detailed narrative orchestrates the profuse voices of its characters--priests and bartenders, boxers and violinists, politicians and brew masters. The book resounds with the symphony of those tempestuous days full tone and tint. And at the end, Tommy Muldoon stands alone in the ring facing his destiny. And the reader, by knowing better those particular times past, now better understands the times today.

"James Ryan is an addict in recovery. He is now over twenty years sane and sober, married and a father of two, and a PhD graduate who researches the power of writing to heal. In this book, James tells his own story and the stories of the addicts he interviewed in the course of his research. These narratives, informed by existing research on writing's physical and psychological effects, lead to a social understanding of healing. While writing does enable us to emote and confess, this is not the limit of its power. Writing heals our relationships as much as our bodies and minds. It attunes us to our social reality and improves our way of being with others. The notion of a higher power and the divine are also explored. Included in this book are step-by-step instructions for writing exercises that offer a first-hand experience of social healing. These exercises, drawn from the backs of coffee-stained diner place mats and the hard-earned experience of addicts struggling to remake their lives, introduce those willing to undertake this journey to the powerful, life-changing world of recovery writing"--