March 11, 2016: Review by The Midwest Book Review
Synopsis: “The Broken Places” is the personal memoir of internationally acclaimed American cultural historian Joseph McBride. In it McBride recalls his troubled youth in the Midwest during the 1960s that included his breakdown as a teenager and his eventual triumphant recovery. “The Broken Places” gives an unsparing look at physical and psychological abuse, family dysfunction and addiction, sexual repression, and Catholic guilt — but at its heart is a haunting and often joyous love story. “The Broken Places” offers an unforgettable portrait of Kathy Wolf, a brilliant, vibrant, shattered young Native American woman who taught Joe how to live even though she could not save herself.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, impressively candid, consistently moving, “The Broken Places” is a truly extraordinary love story and the memoir of a life that will linger in the reader’s mind and memory long after the book itself is finished and set back upon the shelf. Very highly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary American Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “The Broken Places” is also available in a Kindle edition ($18.50).