Highbridge Boys

By Frederick Schneider

Tommy Fallon, a Bronx teenager coming of age in the mid-1960s, realizes that he has an extraordinary talent for playing pool. He becomes a player in the stable of a Harlem backer and learns how to hustle but he carries with him the personal pain of a childhood scarred by an abusive father and a loving but alcoholic mother. As he and his closest friends find their lives changing and their friendships tested in the shadow of the developing war in Vietnam, Tommy ventures into the underworld of high stakes pool playing. His mother, Margie, emotionally damaged by family tragedy and an abusive marriage tries to accept Tommy's bid for adulthood. Widowed and still under 40 years old, she struggles with her stifled libido and falls into a relationship with a dangerous man who threatens both her and her son's peace of mind and safety. Finally, she must come to terms with her earlier passive acceptance of Tommy's abuse by his father and her own increasing dependence on her son. Highbridge Boys is a story of friendship and family and the challenge of trying to make the best of things over which there is little control.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1511527420
• ISBN13: 9781511527422
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 356 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"