The Bookie's Daughter

by Heather Abraham

A provocative and candid memoir spanning the first nineteen years of the author's life, The Bookie's Daughter resonates with elements of Sopranos and Running with Scissors—zany, violent, and oh-so-human. Written by Heather Abraham, The Bookie’s Daughter is a wild ride through a childhood dominated by Big Al, the author’s larger-than-life bookie father, and Bonnie, her trigger-happy alcoholic mother. Devoted to their family yet in thrall to their prodigious addictions, they recklessly plunged their daughters into a dangerous life of crime. Join The Bookie’s Daughter in a perfect storm of adolescent angst, crime, and shocking adventures. Follow along as the author and her sister traverse a childhood where gambling, police raids, trials, public scorn, spitting Studda Bubbas, hitmen, IRA gunrunners, pedophiles, bodyguards, and midnight runs for illegal goods were considered routine. The narrative is twistedly entertaining, with a range of colorful wacky characters, as well as shockingly raw in its recognition of the destructive nature of dysfunctional family dynamics and parental addictions. Throughout a series of outrageous, oftentimes violent, misadventures, Abraham manages to conjure up loony vistas, thick with description and humorous acceptance.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Crime, Biography

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Heather Abraham holds a BA and MA in Religious Studies from Georgia State University and is founder and editor of the eMagazine Religion Nerd. Originally from Jeannette, Pennsylvania, she currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Teo and their three beloved dogs. "The Bookie's Daughter" is her first book.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually downloaded this onto my Kindle because it was free...but am glad that I did! I ended up really enjoying this true story as the author writes in a very down-to-earth style; it grabbed my interest and I ended up feeling like I knew these people. It also made me consider how we are quick to judge others, such as those who commit crimes AND their families. After reading this, though, I think it's easier to understand that, while someone may be a criminal to the world in general, they are also a very loved family member to someone else. Plus I have to say that I agree with Al's outlook on crime - murder, drugs, rape, and child abuse are the acts of a true "criminal".

[Beatris Buckles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bookie's Daughter is another memoir that might not have been intended to be as funny as I received it. It’s not so much a dark comedy as a wacky circus of weird and wonderful. Big Al and Bonnie were two parents that somehow created a sane daughter with a wry style of writing that made both parents sympathetic. Big Al’s character was big in this book. Heather Abraham’s writing was excellent. I enjoyed this book so much I have passed it along to others. Any fan of memoir will find something in this book.

[Eleanor Yoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs I have read in a long while. Heather talks about her father, Big Al, and her pill-popping mother, Bonnie, with humor and grace. Her nineteen years with them reads like a thriller with bullets and drugs. It’s a crime story with a child at its center. It will definitely make you laugh but it is also rather sad, but not in a “poor victim” sort of way. It is a very enjoyable book to read and I would recommend it to any fan of true crime, memoir, or the crazy family genre.

[Cathye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is crazy, hilarious, exciting, and sad. Heather paints a picture of her father so well that I feel I knew him once. I kept thinking to myself "how did she come out of this normal" while reading. You will laugh and cry, but it is definitely a must read!

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic memoir, wild stories all around.

[Cybele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Funny, poignant and entertaining. I would really like to see this turned into a movie- better yet- filmed where it actually took place in PA.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this free book from Amazon. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It tells an exciting story of the author's childhood.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure what led me to this book; it has been on my tbr (and due to the author's surname, at the top of my tbr) for over 7 years. I finally requested the book from the library. I am so often disappointed in memoirs. They are generally not very well written, in my opinion. Although I am not doubting her veracity, I found parts of The Bookie's Daughter unbelievable. In addition, while she seems to give her father a pass on his illegal activities and addictions, she is not equally generous with her mother, until the end. I would also have been interested in more detail in how the author cam to a career in religious studies, which she never fully explains. However, like with a gossip magazine, I found myself continuing to read until the end of the book. Thankfully, The Bookie's Daughter was a quick read.

[Rodolphus · Rating 4 out of 5]

From an outsider's perspective, it was pretty decently written and takes care to show the less pleasant aspects of criminal life, such as having to constantly look over one's shoulder and never display any sort of outward weakness. Overall, it was a good glimpse into the mind of someone born into such a life, who saw the damage it could do and thus sought to get away before ending up stuck carrying the burdens of her father and the self-perpetuating cycle of his criminal business dealings.

[Adena Woods]

Author Heather Abraham gives a candid and sometimes funny insight into her life as a child growing up as the local bookie's daughter. Each chapter reveals the startling reality her and her sister grew up in. From running the local store to running the underground casino night. Both girls were raised to learn the business their father had. Even going with him to pick up illegal items before dawn. This book is fantastic - i couldn't put it down!

[Florie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turning memoir. Couldn't put it down. Thanks Laura!🙂❤️

[StiffSticks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kid has a father who sold fireworks & booze illegally out of his store, & had some gambling going on. & that's worth a book deal? This was a struggle to read because it was b-o-r-i-n-g

[Hannah Spadafora · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Bookie's Daughter" is a staggering personal account chronicling a girl whose life was brought outside her control by her father's lightly criminal activities that led to some seriously scary threats and unintended consequences for those living within the mayhem. The book is set up in a less linear fashion, instead sequenced by relevant events, but this offers the reader the opportunity to unravel the cohesion of how the pieces of this life fit together. In the retellings of fearfulness experienced when the author realized the darkest side to having a family member in criminality, I could not help but hear a similar voice to those who have grown up in less stable cultural environments, experiencing the ever-present threat of violence from societal corruption. Some of the terms used to describe the more evil figures of this narrative--like "skin runners", a term to refer to those who deal in underage prostitution, leaves as many chills as the practice it refers to. Other names are funny, and telling--Damian Doom, particularly. More than just a childhood tale, this narrative gives a peek inside different criminal enterprises, as gambling and a pension for extraordinary Fourth of July firework displays led the author's father to intersect paths with individuals across the spectrum from the cops who busted him, but still bought at his store, to the criminals he often found himself in business with to keep the store popping and the gambling going. This account shows first hand the affects family members experience in result of others choices, and yet also shows the story of a girl--two girls, including the authors sister, though the firsthand perspective/greater knowledge given is of the main character--and how they dealt and learned from the incredible things they experienced while living this very strange life, and kept deep affection for their parents despite flaws, before finally leaving. This book is a great read which will keep you on reading, curious every page what next will befall the author, and how she will react to always being held so close in proximity to such powerful and sometimes dangerous situations.

[Carol Krejci · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story riddled with bullets, danger and pathos might well describe The Bookie’s Daughter by Heather Abraham. Centering on the first 19 years of the author’s life, this candid narrative presents the dichotomy of iniquity and decency that comprised the chaotic sphere of her existence. This book successfully moves the reader from tears to laughter, sometimes in just a few lines. Skillfully written, raw and unabridged, it is a “meat and potatoes” book for which there is no appetizer. Be prepared to meet the world in which she lived, “where pork loins look like dog meat” and “Dilly Bars seem just right.” Cower with the child Heather as she meets, and sometimes hides from, seedy criminal characters with such names as the Loogie Man, Crazy Eyes and Damien Doom, who plant seeds of violence—seeds which sometimes erupt into blooms of M-80s. This book is real indeed, with a factual background and location—her hometown (and mine) of Jeannette, PA—and takes place primarily during the 1960s and 1970s. The bittersweet conclusion reveals in touching detail the passing of her bookie father, Big Al and later, her alcoholic, amphetamine-addicted mother Bonnie. Revealing in its tenderness, liberating in its honesty, the author, in writing these memoirs crosses over from her safe—but of necessity—clandestine life. She reveals it all to her readers, and in doing so, illuminates her own road to freedom.

[AngelaGay Kinkead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not normally drawn to true crime stories with lots of foul language, I wanted to read this because I grew up in Jeannette, PA, during the same time as the author. I know the places and pulses she recalls in this memoir! One of the named bookies, indicted in a 1971 trial for corruption was one of our neighbors 1964-65!

But the best thing about reading this book was that I read it aloud, a chapter a night, to my Mother who was visiting me for a few weeks. We laughed and reminisced about the crazy world this young woman grew up in -- and the places and people who were so familiar to us from the mid-60's to the late 70's. Reading aloud to my mother may be a new tradition!

As unsettling as this woman's childhood was, it is not that unusual. The threats that existed for her are real for so many -- and around us every day, if we will only see it.

[D.G. Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your average stereo-typed criminal family

A well written memoir spanning the author's dysfunctional childhood until late teen years growing up with a father who was a bookie and a mother who had her own emotional and alcoholic issues. The story is beautifully told with innocence, detail and although it was not a humorous book, Abraham brings out some chuckles with some of the most bizarre happenings in her family life. This was an enjoyable read.

[Karen Fiandaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating memoir of what it is like to grow up in the criminal world.......

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay - didn't finish it - just couldn't get into it. . .

[Jean Ustorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book! Humorous and sad, I admire the author's tenacity!