Blue Suburbia by Laurie Albanese

Blue Suburbia by Laurie Albanese

Blue Suburbia is a searing memoir so fresh, original, and honest that it will break your heart and renew your faith in the human spirit.

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.

By turns haunting, hilarious, tragic, and romantic, Blue Suburbia 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, Blue Suburbia'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.

Laurie Lico Albanese has worked in a variety of genres, including fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing, creative nonfiction, and memoir. Blue Suburbia: Nearly a Memoir, Lynelle by the Sea, and The Wonders of Prato, co-authored with art historian Laura Morowitz, are among her works. Laurie is the mother of two children and is married to a publishing executive. LaurieLicoAlbanese.com has further information.