DISHWATER HILL: MY COMING OF AGE ADVENTURE

As I told tales about coming of age in the Dishwater Hill section of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, friends and family encouraged me to publish those stories.

Three themes are prevalent throughout the book; a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde connection to dad’s alcohol addiction; the feast and famine syndrome that ruled our part time poverty predicament; and the rite of passage rituals that influenced our youthful development.

I use two voices in these stories and poems.; one-how I remembered them as a kid, and two-as an adult looking back on that experience. This is important because I wanted the reader to experience the event and the emotion that went along with the story, in addition to the historical background information.

I have included some illustrations and a scrapbook of old and recent photos to help provide a visual context to some of the stories. An important part of the scrapbook is a means to thank the countless individuals responsible for guidance, compassion, and mentoring during my formative years. In spite of some personal hardships, this town, was a great place to live and grow up in during the 1950’s and 1960’s.