Lost in Cabbagetown - by Terry Burke (Paperback)

About the Book

From the tenements of Dublin to the slums of Toronto, Terry Burke paints a graphic picture of his boyhood, as part of an Irish immigrant family struggling to survive on the streets of Cabbagetown, at the beginning of the 1960s.

Book Synopsis

A poignant memoir of a rough-and-tumble boyhood on the streets of Toronto's Cabbagetown.

When the Burke family left Ireland, in 1959, they thought they were leaving the trials and tribulations of the Dublin slums behind. Instead, Molly, Bill, and their nine children found the same poverty and hardship awaiting them in the east end of Toronto.

For their sixth-born son, Terry, growing up in Cabbagetown was a daily struggle to survive. Whether it was the bullies on the street or the gangs in Regent Park, fights were an everyday occurrence. School should have been a refuge, but some of the priests and nuns were more terrifying than any street bully. The only escape for Terry was to find his way down into the Don Valley, where he could search the river for muskrat or imagine himself escaping on one of the freight trains, chucking north, up the valley floor.

But a childhood in Cabbagetown didn't seem to last very long. Forced into adulthood and driven from home in the wake of tragedy, Terry struggled to survive on his own and find a way back to his family.

In this touching memoir, Terry Burke tells a poignant story of hunger, pain, love, and loss, and the enduring bonds of family.

Review Quotes

Reading Lost In Cabbagetown is a powerful experience. Terry Burke transports you back in time, giving you an intimate glimpse into life in the laneways of Cabbagetown in the days before it became one of Toronto's most affluent neighbourhoods. It's a vital and timely reminder of the harrowing stakes involved in carving a place out for yourself as a new arrival in the city, an unvarnished tale of love, loss and determination.-- "Adam Bunch, author of The Toronto Book of Love"

About the Author

Terry Burke immigrated to Toronto's Cabbagetown in the late 1950s. His two previous books, Cold War Soldier and Under the Blue Beret, deal with his time in the military. He is retired and living in London, Ontario.