Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir

Available for Pre-Order now!

By: Brett Peruzzi

Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir is a lyrical yet unflinching portrait of a young man’s search for identity set against the gritty backdrop of Quincy, Massachusetts—a city steeped in history and shadowed by the legacy of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Raised by his conservative Italian-American grandparents after being born to their unmarried daughter, the author struggles to find his place within his family and the world around him. As he progresses through adolescence in the 1970s, a storm of rebellion rises up in him, bringing risk, recklessness, and a deepening sense of disconnection. After experiencing the perils of heavy drinking, cliff jumping in Quincy’s water-filled quarries, and exploring Boston’s adult entertainment district, the Combat Zone, he finds validation in the emerging punk rock scene.

Years later, a string of family crises pulls him back to the city he tried to escape. Through painful revelations, a pilgrimage to Italy, and, ultimately, the unexpected discovery of the father he never knew, he begins to untangle the past and find peace with his origins, his heritage, and the city that shaped him.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages

• ISBN-13: 978-1-941573-85-3

• Book Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches

• Also available as eBook