{"product_id":"welcome-to-shirley-a-memoir-from-an-atomic-town-9781610397063","title":"Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town","description":"Shirley seemed to be doomed from the beginning. Founded by a Vaudevillian huckster who touted it as a seaside haven despite the sand bar that blocks access to the shore, the town has been plagued by one disaster after another -- a UFO, a childhood cancer cluster, and a mysterious federal nuclear laboratory in nearby Brookhaven that leaked toxic nuclear and chemical waste into the aquifer from which the residents unknowingly drew their well water. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This is Kelly McMasters' account of growing up in a cursed town and loving it anyway, and of a girl's awakening to tragedy and to a sense of mission. Told in a deliciously engaging voice, \u003ci\u003eWelcome to Shirley\u003c\/i\u003e balances the bitter with the sweet, the funny with the infuriating, in an unforgettable story of working class Long Island.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKelly McMasters\u003c\/b\u003e' essays and articles have appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post Magazine, Newsday, Elle DÃ(c)r, Metropolis\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTime Out New York\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. She teaches writing at Columbia University and mediabistro.com and is the co-director of the KGB Nonfiction Reading Series in the East Village. She lives in Manhattan and northeast Pennsylvania with her husband, the painter Mark Milroy.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"PublicAffairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50525000073490,"sku":"9781610397063","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d4755764-d9a6-4932-8dbb-e426ececd052.jpg?v=1731198253","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/welcome-to-shirley-a-memoir-from-an-atomic-town-9781610397063","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}