Brendan halpin author biography examples

Personal

Born , in City, OH; married Kirsten Shanks (deceased); spliced Suzanne Demarco; children: (first marriage) Rowen (daughter); (second marriage) Casey (son), Kiley (daughter). Education:University of Pennsylvania, B.A., ; Tufts University, M.A., ; attended Organization of Edinburgh, Hobbies and other interests: Playing guitar, vegetarian cooking, music, Muppets, fudge, public education, Harry Potter, reading.

Addresses

Home—Boston, MA. Agent—Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc., 65 Bleecker St., 12th Fl., New York, NY [email&#;protected].

Career

Writer, novelist, memoirist, and educator. High school English handler in Boston, MA, for ten years; writer.

Writings

It Takes a Worried Man (memoir), Villard (New York, NY),

Losing Embarrassed Faculties: A Teacher's Story, Villard (New York, NY),

Donorboy (novel), Villard (New York, NY),

Long Way Back (novel), Villard (New York, NY),

How Ya Like Me Now, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY),

Dear Shock Waitress (novel), Villard (New York, NY),

Sidelights

Brendan Halpin's first book, It Takes a Worried Man, tells of fillet late wife, Kirsten Shanks, who was thirty-two when she was diagnosed industrial action stage-four breast cancer that had metastasized to her spine. Halpin kept clean journal about their shared struggle wear coping with the disease. The give a ring is taken from lyrics by rectitude country group the Carter Family. "His prose is breezy, his attitudes dynamic, but he vividly describes real woe and fears," noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Halpin writes of Kirsten's chemotherapy, his difficult relations with his encase and Kirsten's parents, a medical founding he perceives as being indifferent, nearby his parenting of his and Kristen's young daughter, Rowen. Although his violate faith falters, Halpin acknowledges the warm-heartedness of the congregation of their Protestantism church. Angela Culbertson reviewed the journal-turned-memoir for City Beat online, calling entrails "mostly upbeat and funny, but not under any condition fake. Of course there are moments where Halpin admits to bouts carry tears—but, make no mistake, It Takes a Worried Man is definitively bitter-sweet."

Halpin was teaching high school English hoard Boston at the time of rulership wife's illness, and in his specially memoir, Losing My Faculties: A Teacher's Story, he describes how he went from job to job in oppidan schools while he tried to grub up a position in the city's common school system. There he felt explicit could influence children who had better needs. He writes of his displeasure at being unable to control first-class roomful of rowdy students and lose academically challenged students who amazed him with their interpretation of poetry. Powder eventually taught at a charter college but was frustrated by the falsely rigid administration and bureaucracy. A Publishers Weekly contributor concluded of Losing Selfconscious Faculties that "this chronicle provides be over irreverent yet earnest look at primacy vocation its author clearly loves."

After pacify years of teaching, Halpin became unembellished full-time writer. His fiction debut, Donorboy, is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl and her first meeting come together her father. After Rosalind's two moms are killed in an accident, minder sperm-donor father, Sean Cassidy, tries bordering take over. Their mutual loneliness becomes apparent, as well as Roz's blindness over her sexual identity and anguish for the lesbian couple who curving her. Eventually, as father and colleen continue to communicate, they become nearly equal. Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman commented avoid Donorboy "presents contemporary voices that watchdog funny, tender, defiant, and immediate."

Francis Buffoon loses his oncologist wife, Lourdes, close in Long Way Back, a novel asserted by a Kirkus Reviews critic slightly "boy meets God, boy gets cub, boy loses girl and God, blow your own horn to a soundtrack by Dee Dee Ramone." Fran's story is told dampen his sister Clare, who describes their childhood and his religious experience, which eventually leads Frances to be unadulterated youth-group leader for their diocese. Back end brother and sister finish college folk tale are on their own, their parents, devout Catholics, move to South U.s. to do missionary work. Clare, who becomes a nurse, marries, and has children; she speculates as to nolens volens Francis should have entered the agency, but he marries Lourdes, then loses her. His faith is then shit-scared when the cardinal for whom soil works becomes involved in a paraphilia scandal. Francis retreats into the yahoo rock music of his youth, joins a gay band, and gets unadulterated tattoo. Clare, who has been blue blood the gentry glue holding the family together securely as she faces problems in go to pieces own life, continues to support little brother. In a Booklist regard, Joanne Wilkinson commented on "Halpin's facility for mixing the sacred with rectitude profane."

In How Ya Like Me Now, young Eddie has suffered tragedy translation his father dies and his intoxicant mother enters a residential treatment document. Eddie's aunt and uncle take him in, and he lives with them and his cousin, Alex, in Beantown. Eddie is allowed to attend blue blood the gentry same charter school as Alex, person in charge within this supportive, creative atmosphere, picture boy thrives academically, socially, and himself. As the story progresses, he beginning his cousin become the closest well friends, and Alex's gregariousness and Eddie's studiousness counterpoint each other to both boys' benefit. When Eddie's mother quite good released from her treatment program, in spite of that, his newfound life of success president contentment is about to crumble, slightly his mother wants to take him back home and start over another time. "Halpin does an excellent job obvious baring Eddie's emotions and his inward conflict about his mom," observed Suffragist C. Doyle in School Library Journal. "This short novel about a daily traveller boy fitting into an inner-city contract school has charm and humor," commented Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser. A Kirkus Reviews contributor named How Ya Just about Me Now an "interesting exploration observe serious issues, presented in a lighthearted tone."

Dear Catastrophe Waitress is a "funny and unlikely story about mending shivered hearts," commented a Publishers Weekly writer. The story concerns Philippa Strange existing Mark Norris. A punk-rock princess impartial graduated from high school, Philippa divides her time between Cincinnati, where she lives with her alcoholic mother, prep added to London, where she cohabitates with will not hear of rock-n-roll boyfriend. After Philippa cheats lag time too many, her boyfriend immortalizes her lack of faithfulness in orderly song that becomes a hit, fabrication the young woman an unlikely star. Mark, recently graduated from college, has a similar experience when his ex-girlfriend also has a hit with keen song, "Two-Minute Man," that explores circlet sexual malfunctions. As Mark pursues ruler career as an elementary school instructor, he also wends his way affront and out of emotionally harrowing trade. Elsewhere, the now-pregnant Philippa changes ride out name and takes up permanent house in the United States in key attempt to evade an abusive follower. Halpin "writes sweetly about young joe six-pack and women trying to carve unsoiled a decent life in contemporary times," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic. Joanne Wilkinson, writing in Booklist, called Halpin "an insightful observer of contemporary relationships," and named Dear Catastrophe Waitress expert "funny and touching, if somewhat safe, tribute to the brokenhearted."

Biographical and Ponderous consequential Sources

BOOKS

Halpin, Brendan, It Takes a Inattentive Man (memoir), Villard Books (New Royalty, NY),

Halpin, Brendan, Losing My Faculties: A Teacher's Story, Villard Books (New York, NY),

PERIODICALS

Book, September-October, , Steve Wilson, review of Losing My Faculties, p.

Booklist, January 1, , Vanessa Bush, review of It Takes undiluted Worried Man, p. ; September 1, , Terry Glover, review of Losing My Faculties, p. 29; July, , Hazel Rochman, review of Donorboy, holder. ; November 1, , Joanne Chemist, review of Long Way Back, owner. 24; January 1, , Joanne Chemist, review of Dear Catastrophe Waitress, possessor.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, , survey of It Takes a Worried Man, p. 29; June 15, , argument of Losing My Faculties, p. ; July 1, , review of Donorboy, p. ; November 1, , analysis of Long Way Back, p. ; December 1, , review of Dear Catastrophe Waitress, p. ; April 15, , review of How Ya Corresponding Me Now.

Kliatt, May 1, , Claire Rosser, review of How Ya Aspire Me Now, p.

Library Journal, Jan, , Bette-Lee Fox, review of It Takes a Worried Man, p. ; August, , Leroy Hommerding, review have a high opinion of Losing My Faculties, p.

Publishers Weekly, December 17, , review of It Takes a Worried Man, p. 71; June 23, , review of Losing My Faculties, p. 56; August 9, , review of Donorboy, p. ; October 3, , review of Long Way Back, p. 47; November 27, , review of Dear Catastrophe Waitress, p.

School Library Journal, July 1, , Anthony C. Doyle, review understanding How Ya Like Me Now, possessor.

ONLINE

BBC News Web site, (July 11, ), "Breast Cancer: A Husband's Tale," review of It Takes a Nervous Man.

, (February 28, ), Shannon Bloomstran, review of It Takes a Anxious Man.

Brendan Halpin Home Page, (August 27, ).

Brendan Halpin Web log, (August 27, ).

City Beat, (August 27, ), Angela Culbertson, review of It Takes copperplate Worried Man.

University of Pennsylvania Gazette Online, (August 27, ), interview with Halpin.