Tom coraghessan boyle biography sample

Tom Coraghessan Boyle, born Thomas John Boyle on December 2, 1948 in Peekskill, NY, changed his middle name to Coraghessan at the age of 17.

Tom coraghessan boyle biography sample pdf

His mother, a secretary, and his father, a bus driver, were both Catholic, his father having been raised in a Catholic orphanage where he was educated until the 8th grade. In his essay, "This Monkey, My Back," he describes himself as being an obedient child until about the age of 15, when the influence of his more affluent, better educated friends turned him into a self-described "proto-hippie." At the age of 17 he attended SUNY Potsdam, planning to study music and to play the saxophone; however, he flunked his audition, and as a result he pursued an alternate degree instead, graduating with a BA in English and History in 1968.

His talent for writing was recognized early on, but his admitted binge drinking and recreational drug use distracted him from tru