Blue Suburbia

<p><em>Blue Suburbia</em> is a searing memoir so fresh original and honest that it will break your heart and renew your faith in the human spirit.</p><p>With each spare stroke of her pen Laurie Lico Albanese paints a vivid portrait of the blue-collar landscape of her childhood -- rusted swing sets auto body shops greasy hands home improvements -- taking readers along for the wild treacherous ride that leads to her escape. Her mother may stand silently at the sink year after year or lie in the basement weeping but Albanese is determined to flee the deadening certainty of her parents' lives. Her story does not disappoint us.</p><p>By turns haunting hilarious tragic and romantic <em>Blue Suburbia</em> is the chronicle of a determined young woman who overcomes family limitations socio-economic obstacles and personal fears to build a happy -- and blessedly ordinary -- life. Written entirely in free verse <em>Blue Suburbia</em>'s cadence is a steady rhythmic heartbeat pulsing with pain rebellion love and triumph. This is the story many of us might tell if we had the courage.</p>