Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80s by Steven Manchester Review

SYNOPSIS: It’s the winter of 1984. Twelve-year old Herbie and his two brothers—Wally and Cockroach—are enjoying the mayhem of winter break when a late Nor’easter blows through New England, trapping their quirky family in the house. The power goes out and playing Space Invaders to AC DC’s Back in Black album is suddenly silenced—forcing them to use their twisted imaginations in beating back the boredom. At a time when the brothers must overcome one fear after the next, they learn that courage is the one character trait that guarantees all others. This hysterical coming-of-age tale is jam-packed with enough nostalgia to satisfy anyone who grew up in the ‘80s or at least had the good fortune to travel through them. EARLY PRAISE “If you loved the ever popular A Christmas Story, be prepared for another classic. Bread Bags & Bullies is a must read! Funny, poignant, and heartwarming—Steven Manchester is a master storyteller.” – Jamie Farr, Actor, M.A.S.H. “In Bread Bags & Bullies, the writing is so vivid, the pace and rhythm so quick, that I truly felt I was watching it on screen.” – Joan van Ark, Actress, Knots Landing “Bread Bags & Bullies is a detailed eye-opening experience of the Big Hair decade. Enjoyable whether you were there or not—or just can’t quite remember it.” – Barry Williams, Actor, The Brady Bunch “Steven Manchester’s Bread Bags & Bullies captures a simpler time, just before technology began dominating America’s time and attention. This nostalgic story is hilarious, told by a family of characters you won’t soon forget. A must read!” – Ed Asner, Actor, Lou Grant

Order on AMAZON Author Bio: Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers Twelve Months, The Rockin’ Chair, Pressed Pennies and Gooseberry Island; the national bestsellers, Ashes, The Changing Season and Three Shoeboxes; and the multi-award winning novels, Goodnight Brian and The Thursday Night Club. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Three of Steven’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He is a multi-produced playwright, as well as the winner of the 2017 Los Angeles Book Festival and the 2018 New York Book Festival. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or their four children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing. Find Steven Manchester Online:  Goodreads | BookBub | Twitter | Facebook My Review: I love the 80's and this book was a blast from the past! I loved all the games that were mentioned from a Magic 8 Ball to Nintendo! I loved the songs that were on the radio! I loved that there were connections to my childhood. I never did the bread bag thing, but I did have a garbage bag around my foot cast. I also had a store down the street from us that we got milk and eggs from for the weekend. There were 4 of us growing up and we definitely had a lot of banter like Wally and his brothers.Most of all I loved that this book reinforced family. Loving each other and helping each other. Through bullies, boredom and school vacations. From board games to bus rides. This is a great trip down memory lane, and an even better story about fathers passing down traits to one another. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy, all opinions are my own. Another great read by Steven Manchester!