This book chronicles the author's experiences growing up in Queens, NY, in the 1940s and 50s. It poignantly illustrates the difficulties she and her family faced because of her physical challenges. It also tells of her life as an adult, showing how the author has been able to overcome multiple barriers in order to achieve her goals. She has earned two degrees, and has become a fierce advocate of rights for the disabled. In 1990 she went to Washington D.C. to help get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed.
**SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH** 'It was a revelation. Moving, terrifying, funny and brilliant. I shall never forget it - an amazing achievement' STEPHEN FRY 'Brash and frightening and funny' NEW YORK TIMES * * * * * * The Sunday Times bestselling Gypsy Boy was the first commercial memoir written by someone on the inside of the notoriously secretive culture of the Romany Gypsies. MIKEY WAS BORN into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back. This is something Mikey knows only too well. Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world. But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture, his family's legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse. Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision - to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong. Mikey's amazing story is continued in the sequel Gypsy Boy on the Run.
Born in 1979, Roxy Freeman grew up travelling around Ireland and England in a traditional horse-drawn wagon with her mother and father and six siblings. Life was harsh but it was a childhood of freedom spent in harmony with nature. Roxy didn't know her times-tables but she could milk a goat, ride a horse and cook dinner for the whole family on an open fire before she was ten. Early life was idyllic but when her father brought the family to England, they faced prejudice and hostility and Roxy found herself receiving the very unwelcome attentions of a family friend - which she endured in secret. Despite all of the difficulties she faced, she developed a passion for flamenco and traditional music and developed a career as a dancer, which took her around the world. Her beautifully written story is a frank portrait of what life is really like for women and girls of traveller communities.
Since their unexplained appearance in Europe over nine centuries ago, the Gypsies have refused to fall in with conventional settled life. They remain a people whose culture and customs are beset with misunderstanding, and who cling to their distinct identity in the teeth of persistent rejection and pressure to conform. This book describes their history.
The son of a Romany Gypsy champion bareknuckle boxer shares the story of his upbringing in England, his realization of his sexual orientation, and how his circumstances were shaped by his culture's absolute beliefs.
This compilation of conference proceedings consists of 44 separate "chapters" or selections that are spread over about ten sections. The sections deals with such topics as historical and epistemological factors, cognitive and intellectual perspectives, and clinical and mental health.
An English man struggles to define himself and his sexuality outside the bounds of traditional Romany culture in this intimate memoir. “Funny, touching, and heartbreaking in equal measures . . . a coming-of-age tale like no other.” —Grazia magazine Mikey Walsh didn’t know what life was like beyond his Gypsy community. But after fleeing home at age fifteen, he had no choice but to find out. After centuries of persecution, Gypsies are wary of outsiders, and if you choose to leave, you can never come back. Torn between his family and his heart, Mikey struggled to come to terms with the Gypsy culture and its violent, conservative traditions. At last, he decided to set out on his own. He soon discovered the outside world wasn’t all that he expected, and his life would never be the same again. A shocking yet ultimately triumphant memoir, Gypsy Boy on the Run follows Mikey as he comes to terms with himself, his family, and his past—and builds a new life for himself. “A great-hearted book of tenderness and brutality.” —Kirkus Reviews “Every bit as stellar as its predecessor. If you’re searching for something for vacation, weekending or just because, Gypsy Boy on the Run is the best escape.” —The Washington Blade
This translation of the proceedings of the international conference organised by the Centre for Gypsy Research & held in Carcassonne in 1989 provides a vivid picture of action research into the education of Gypsy & Traveller children in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain & the UK.
