and World War II and being shuttled between his grandmother's and a
foster care home in Norwood, O'Connell experienced more trauma than
most.
It is a story that O'Connell has now published as a memoir: "The
O'Connell Boy: Educating 'The Wolf Child', An Irish-American
Memoir(1932-1950)."
According to O'Connell's account, he split his time between two
homes run by solitary women who are Irish immigrants. Following family
tragedies that include a terminally insane mother, O'Connell is
dropped off by his father to a Catholic Charities foster home in
Norwood.
Later, O'Connell's Irish grandmother enters the equation and he
spent his teen years with her, engaging in a battle of wills.
O'Connell's memoir begins when he is dropped off at a foster home
in Norwood where he would spend nine years, guided by the watchdog
perfectionism of a woman known to the boys only as Mrs. White.
Mrs. White is a strict disciplinarian, and O'Connell, said much of
his early childhood was spent trying to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
"Mrs. White was very, very strict and we had harsh religious
training," said O'Connell. "She would have done very, very well as a
Marine Corps drill sergeant."
Mrs. White was also fond of sayings like, "Cleanliness is next to
godliness" and similar expressions, said O'Connell.
But O'Connell recalls his years with Mrs. White as positive. The
food was good. The place was clean. And his life foundation was laid.
"She was the one who kept telling us that we needed an education in
life," said O'Connell, who took the words to heart, eventually getting
a master's degree.
At 14, O'Connell got out of the foster home and moved in with his
elderly grandmother in East Dedham where two worlds collided and
O'Connell suddenly enjoyed extensive freedom.
"She was too old to chase me around," said O'Connell. "There wasn't
much she could do , although occasionally, she would lock me out of
the house if I came home too late."
But O'Connell said "Granny" amused him with things like having
newspaper covering the linoleum floor.
"It was linoleum that wasn't worth covering," said O'Connell.
O'Connell said the memoir is meant to touch on an orphan's
feelings, quest for freedom and struggle to find a place in the world
through both the Great Depression and World War II.
"I hope people find it enjoyable," said O'Connell.
The book is available through amazon.com and on the Sanctuary
Unlimited Web site: www.sanctuary777.com.
