{"product_id":"parish-the-thought-an-inspirational-memoir-of-growing-up-catholic-in-the-1960s-9781416589495","title":"Parish the Thought: An Inspirational Memoir of Growing Up Catholic in the 1960s","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn a warm and affectionate narrative that \"transports readers back to a time before cable television, cell phones, and the Internet\" (\u003ci\u003eAtlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e), John Bernard Ruane paints a marvelous portrait of his Irish-Catholic boyhood on the southwest side of Chicago in the 1960s.\u003c\/b\u003e Capturing all the details that perfectly evoke those bygone days for Catholics and baby boomers everywhere, Ruane recounts his formative years donning the navy-and-plaid school uniform of St. Bede's: the priests and nuns; bullies, best friends, and first loves; and most memorable teachers -- including the miniskirted blonde who inspired lust among the fifth-grade boys but was fired for protesting the Vietnam War. Here are stories from the heart of his hardworking, blue-collar family: the good times and bad; sibling rivalries; summers by the lake; delivering newspapers in the frigid Chicago winter; the fire that destroyed the family home; and the loss of their beloved mother to cancer. And here are priceless accounts of Ruane's days as an altar boy: from an embarrassing bell-ringing mishap, to serving a strict pastor who built a magnificent church but couldn't inspire Christian spirit, to the Heaven-sent guitar-playing priest who turned worship around for a generation of youth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Bernard Ruane \u003c\/b\u003ewrote for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Time\u003c\/i\u003e for nearly a decade, the paper he first delivered as a boy. He has also written five plays all produced in his home town of Chicago. His short film \u003ci\u003eComedy on Rye\u003c\/i\u003e won the Illinois FilmCam Award. For the past fifteen year, he has owned an operated a marketing and communications company and coached youth sports. He and his wife Charlotte recently celebrated his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. They have four children and reside in Roswell, Georgia. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gallery Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50465291075858,"sku":"9781416589495","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b459f80a-8d7c-4589-bb42-ef121a0d27e4.jpg?v=1730110613","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/parish-the-thought-an-inspirational-memoir-of-growing-up-catholic-in-the-1960s-9781416589495","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}