Dyer Straits

All Those Years Ago in Dorchester, MA

By: Mary A Dyer

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Paperback | 9 April 2026

At a Glance

Paperback
326 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.73

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Growing up in Dorchester, MA during the 1960s and '70s meant living through some of Boston's most turbulent years-racial tension, shifting neighborhoods, and families stretched thin by hardship. In this memoir, the author traces her childhood inside a triple-decker world shaped by addiction, mental illness, poverty, and domestic violence-and the fierce sibling bonds that helped her survive it.

At home, a mother of eight did everything she could under impossible circumstances-resourceful, steady, and determined to keep her family afloat. Her children learned early how to look out for one another, raise one another, and find light where they could. Their father, volatile and mentally ill, casts a long shadow over the household, shaping much of what the family had to endure.

Threaded through every chapter is the music that held the siblings together. From kitchen-radio singalongs to teenage bedrooms pulsing with rock and roll, music became a safe place-a shared language of humor, escape, and love.

Both a family tribute and a raw, clear-eyed look at growing up in working-class Dorchester, this memoir honors the strength it took to get through those years-and the willingness to look back on them for the lessons they offered.

Industry Reviews

"A clear-eyed memoir of survival in working-class Boston. Readers will find the depiction of Dorchester particularly evocative, though the story's core-of survival through connection-transcends geography." - PenMasters Global

"The power of love to get through extremely challenging times."

There is so much detail describing the days of busing, desegregation, and emotions of those living in the city during the 60s, and 70s. I appreciate how music played a role in all that took place. This is a book that will stay with me." - Amazon Reader Review

"Dyer Straits is a powerful memoir that brings mid-20th century Dorchester, MA, vividly to life. The author weaves together personal memories, interviews, and archival research to illuminate cycles of alcoholism, violence, poverty, and resilience, while carefully avoiding blame and easy villains." - Editorial Review: Carolyn V. Hamilton, author of Help! I Married a Comedian

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