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Rebellion, 1967

A Memoir

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Janet Duffy, a spunky, seventeen-year-old Irish girl, is eager to start college—but instability between her alcoholic father and self-absorbed mother jeopardize her dream, so she sets up her own apartment with her younger sister in Jamaica, Queens, and treks to City College in Manhattan, New York. The routine is deadening, but she finds purpose in the black community, working for a mural painter and volunteering for a civil rights activist.

After turning eighteen, Janet marches with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and falls for a young black saxophone player, Carmen. Her father, a policeman, explodes over their relationship, so Janet rebels—runs away with the jazz musician, and then winds up in the East Village in the Summer of Love. In the ensuing months she deals with heartbreak, sexual harassment, poverty, and danger—but eventually, she asks for the help she needs in order to pick up the pieces of her life and return to her dream.

About The Author

Janet Luongo writes stories, creates art, and gives speeches and workshops. Raised Unitarian Universalist in New York City, she holds an MSEd from Queens College at CUNY and taught art from kindergarten to college. While teaching at the International School of Geneva over several years, she exhibited paintings in Geneva and Paris. In Connecticut, she taught communication at Sacred Heart University. As an art education curator in Bridgeport museums, her innovative programs garnered grants, awards and media attention for connecting urban and suburban children and developing leadership in underserved teens. Her book, 365 Daily Affirmation for Creativity, with a foreword by Jack Canfield and published in five countries, led to presentations in the US and as far as Xian, China. To make diverse feminist artists visible, she founded a non-profit, which mounted forty exhibits. She coproduced the movie Women Make Art, which was screened at the UNIFEM film festival. Currently, photography is her art. She resides with her husband, Jim, in Norwalk, Connecticut, and they enjoy hiking with their son and family in Colorado.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (June 1, 2021)
  • Length: 360 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781647421052

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Raves and Reviews

“Candid and wholehearted, Rebellion, 1967: A Memoir offers a window into an era of turbulence and dramatic change, and keeps the reader’s attention riveted from cover to cover. Highly recommended!”
Midwest Book Reviews

“It takes rare courage to be this vulnerable, honest, and authentic in a memoir. With heart wide open, Janet reveals herself as a girl whose path was driven by intellect, curiosity, and a quest for justice. The history she weaves into her personal story gives gravity to the book. A compelling story.”
—Denise Page, writer, storyteller, diversity trainer, and vision engineer with F.U.N. (Fired Up Network)

“Now is the best time for this memoir to come out. Janet has an important message to deliver.”
—Sonja Ahuja, Capacity Building and Training Partner, Co-Creating Effective and Inclusive Organizations (CEIO)

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