DETROITERS: Growing up in Catholic Detroit

By Ben Sen Dan Foley

Growing up in Detroit in the 1950's and early 60's was like living in a battleground. Once the fifth largest American city, two million citizens left and its taken 50 years for the city to come back. Nothing quite like it happened before and nothing like it since. This is that story through the eyes of someone who experienced it, his family, friends, and church. It is both heartwarming and a portrait that can only be forgotten by putting the future in peril. The original stories that are the basis for the book I wrote 50 years ago in a class at the New School as short stories. Then I wrote them all over in the first person, then re-wrote the entire book again when I realized I needed to add the story of my own family, and my experience at Catholic school. So what you see is the result of a lifelong process. It has been called controversial! Looks like 50 years isn't enough. I try my best not to bang anyone over the head, but the city is still in the grips of denial about the past. These subjects are forbidden. I "humanize" it as much as possible with the stories I tell, but the facts and my own experience make it undeniable. It's one of the reasons I left. I knew I'd never fit in. My criticisms are personal. I tell the story of being humiliated by a nun. Some key words: Detroit, Michigan, Michigan, Roman Catholicism, Visitation High School, Wayne County, Mi, Ford Motor Company, Irish-American Autoworkers Guild, Irish immigration. American history, Notre Dame University, Daniel R. Foley, Racism, Detroit riots. religious tolerance, Dominican nuns, Dominican friars, the American Midwest, American history, American automotive history, Deerfield, Mi. Monroe, Mi. University of Michigan, Wayne State University, University of Detroit, Western Michigan University, Royal Oak, Mi. the Inquisition, Hell's Angels, Royal Oak High School, Dorothy Day, the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, Hamtramck, Mi. Highland Park, Mi. John Lindsey, mayor of NYC, Jesus Christ Cardinal John J. O'Connor, Pietro Cimini, Conservatorio di San Sebastiano, Abruzzi, Italy, Naples, Italy Charles F. Irish, African Americans, James Baldwin.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CQGF45FL
• ISBN13: 9798871987735
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 151 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"