The lessons author Gerard Healy learned growing up in Boston's neighborhood of Dorchester prepared him well for the life that followed. His parents, teachers, kind neighbors, true friends, and the culture of Dorchester provided Healy with a solid base of values. Trial and error would fill in the gaps. The stories in Originally from Dorchester narrate the good, the bad, and beauty of life there in the mid-60s. A story of place and time, it chronicles a young boy's struggle for identity against the competing forces of peer and gang pressure. A predominantly Irish working-class neighborhood, Dorchester held everything including brutal street fighters, true friends, intimidating nuns, and protective neighbors. Carrying the spirit of adventure with him always, Originally from Dorchester shares the lessons learned from family and friends that Healy has carried with him as he's roamed far beyond the town's borders. It explores the complex relationships of adolescent peers, the struggle to break free of intimidating violence, and the saving value of friendship.