Safe Harbor

A Boys Story is a memoir of a boy growing up in a dysfunctional family during World War II and the struggle to find his way as a teen and young man in the fifties.


It clearly illustrates two truths:  The way we raise and treat our children radiates across generations, and How we treat others determines the way we are remembered.


   Bill Reeds compelling narrative of his trauma as a boy trapped in a loveless family draws us into the quest for his origins and survival. At first, he was a happy seven year old in but that changed when his sailor father returned from and turned his familys life into turmoil.  Drinking, arguing by parents in a loveless marriage and mind games played at their childrens expense became normal to him. When his father shunned him and he found that his mother didnt know how to show him love and guidance or how to prepare him for lifes challenges, he felt unloved, lonely and confused.  How was he to learn if no one would teach him?


   Author Reed vividly describes his life and conflicts as a kid trapped in such a family and what he learned as they crossed the American home front at war. His boyish escapades are laced with humor, and the clashes with his father are told with candor and clarity as he searched for guidance and by stories end, found it from an unexpected source.