A Tipsy Fairy Tale: A Coming of Age Memoir of Alcohol and Redemption

by Peter E. Murphy

Overview

In the wake of his mother's passing, Peter Murphy's childhood plunged into chaos. Suffering from neglect, abuse, and a lack of stability, he endured a series of hardships. Murphy was kidnapped at gunpoint, broke half a dozen ribs in a freak accident, and found himself indebted to the Mafia. While as a young teen he turned to painkillers and alcohol to cope, he also developed an unexpected affinity for poetry that eventually transformed his life.

This memoir follows Murphy's journey as he deciphers the grief, shame and loss that permeated his childhood. Still a young man, he left the violence of New York for the bloodstained streets of Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles. As he unraveled the mystery surrounding his mother's death, he reached his lowest point living in a Welsh commune, with little hope of escaping the throes of substance abuse. Written with poetic insight, Murphy's story is one of redemption, recovery, and finding faith in hardship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476695365
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	11/07/2024
Pages:	250
Sales rank:	380,213
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter E. Murphy is the author of eleven previous books and chapbooks of prose and poetry. He is the founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University in Atlantic City where he runs workshops for writers and teachers.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Preface
Prologue
Part
 1. Experiments
 2. Fractured
 3. Cheers
 4. Graduating
 5. Trust Me
 6. Odysseys
 7. Protest
 8. Relation Slips
 9. Happy Hours
Part
10. The Wars
11. ­Merry-Go-Round
12. Bar & Grill
13. Becoming Dead
14. The Little Escapes
15. New Family
16. A Calling
Part
17. The New World
18. Prince of Dogs
19. Becoming Welsh
20. The Two Bills
21. Bogged Down
22. Bad Atheist
Part
23. Reunions
24. Beds of Rock
25. Melting Man
26. With a Little Help from My Friends
27. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
28. Nevermore
Part
29. One More Strange Island
30. Eddie Dreams
31. Becoming Peter Murphy
Soundtrack
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes with Peter Murphy knows that, in addition to him being the most interesting person in the room, his life story must be a mix of epic, legend, and fairy tale. As it sketches Murphy’s soul-searching travails across the Atlantic, his memoir captures the wonders of a generation through the details of a life lived with humility, forbearance, and plenty of humor. Murphy writes with the candor of a man who has struck a truce with his demons and taken poetry for his spiritual practice. The result is proof that any life can be a fairy tale as long as we don’t insist on learning the moral before the story ends.”—Gregory Pardlo, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of Air Traffic, A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America

From the Publisher