BOARDING SCHOOL BASTARD 1: A Memoir. My First Year at a Boarding School for Fatherless Boys

"A gripping and emotional memoir ... sure to leave as big a mark on the reader as it did on the writer. Unforgettable."Jon Clinch, Author of Finn and Kings of the Earth.

A deaf widow leaves her eight-year-old son at an orphanage, hoping he'll find a better life. She dreams that Girard College, a boarding school for fatherless boys, will be his Camelot.What she doesn't know is that emotional abuse, corporal punishment, bullying and pedophilia are the norm. And her son doesn't know whether his mother is ever coming back, or if he'll have to run away. Boarding School Bastard is the memoir of a child's first year at an orphanage in 1962. Leavening the tragedy with humor, Boarding School Bastard reveals a world we'd prefer to avoid but is too riveting to ignore. To understand how a child survives the loss of his father and the abuse of his guardians, this stunning debut memoir is essential reading.

PRAISE FOR BOARDING SCHOOL BASTARD

"Alan Sharavsky's Boarding School Bastard is a 'Me Too' manifesto from a male perspective. Writing in crisp prose, laced with humor, Sharavsky immerses a reader in the travails of childhood and adolescence. But his is not an ordinary coming of age story." -- Annette Libeskind Berkovits, Author of In the Unlikeliest of Places & Confessions of an Accidental Zoo Curator

"While aspects are reminiscent of Oliver Twist, especially the deliberate cruelties inflicted by many of the adults on those in their care, Sharavsky's story is also a testament to the resilience of children who travel through painful events. Touching, and at times, humorous, this memoir will linger long in the reader's mind." -- Nancy Christie, Author of Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories and The Gifts of Change

"I was rooting for the pint-sized protagonist from the first page, gripped and fearing for him by the 10th. This modern-day Oliver struggles to find his way in a well-intentioned but troubled institution, founded at a time when 'orphan' equaled 'fatherless'." -- Valerie, M. Jones, CEO, Speaker and Author of Non-Profit Hero

"Sharavsky's experiences, as depicted in this moving book, provide an important lens into the loneliness and fear felt by children who feel vulnerable and unprotected. Boarding School Bastard eloquently portrays the trauma experienced by victims and witnesses to child abuse."

-- Debra Schilling Wolfe, MEd, Executive Director, University of Pennsylvania Center for Children's Policy

"This memoir is a brilliant exploration of our humanity through the eyes of a powerless boy and his lonely life, illustrating how he coped with brutal, institutional guardians. His inspiring story of resilience demonstrates how creative adaptation and sheer will can overcome emotional deprivation. A tour de force." -- Bruce J. Levin, MD, Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst

"Sharavsky pulls off the remarkable feat of drawing us into a page-turner while sharing the true story of his abused yet fascinating childhood. This powerful book provides necessary insights for people who have not experienced child abuse, abandonment, and anti-Semitism, while bearing witness for those who have." -- Liz Dow, CEO, Leadership Philadelphia

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