Extraordinary neighborhood and engaging storytelling

Because of Donna Florio's good fortune to grow up and live much of her life in one of the most iconoclastic neighborhoods in NYC and through her engaging storytelling, we gain a glimpse into what life was like in Greenwich Village during its heyday. Her parents were not the most affectionate or attentive and Donna often made her neighbors her 'found family.' What's remarkable is that as she describes running around the neighborhood as a child with her friends and developing her street smarts in the city in which some of the things she saw and had to overcome were pretty dicey. She provides fascinating historical snapshots through her research and first hand narrative. The artists, academics, actors and the like that appear in the book are noteworthy and bring back memories because they're recognizable: John and Yoko Lennon, Sid Vicious, Mame, etc.