A Drunken Fairy Tale: A Memoir of Abuse, Addiction and Recovery

In the wake of his mother’s passing, Peter Murphy’s childhood plunged into chaos. Suffering from neglect, abuse, and a lack of stability, he endured a series of hardships. Murphy was kidnapped at gunpoint, broke half a dozen ribs in a freak accident, and found himself indebted to the Mafia. While as a young teen he turned to painkillers and alcohol to cope, he also developed an unexpected affinity for poetry that eventually transformed his life.

This memoir follows Murphy’s journey as he deciphers the grief, shame and loss that permeated his childhood. Still a young man, he left the violence of New York for the bloodstained streets of Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles. As he unraveled the mystery surrounding his mother’s death, he reached his lowest point living in a Welsh commune, with little hope of escaping the throes of substance abuse. Written with poetic insight, Murphy’s story is one of redemption, recovery, and finding faith in hardship.

Peter E. Murphy is the author of eleven previous books and chapbooks of prose and poetry. He is the founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University in Atlantic City where he runs workshops for writers and teachers.