Songs from the Street

About the Book

Songs from the Street is about a native New Yorker coming of age in the fifties, from age eleven to age twenty. The success story of a Jewish girl and her Puerto Rican friends is a combination of circumstance, luck, and learning from mistakes. Karen's story includes coping with a dysfunctional alcoholic family, days of excellent schooling contrasted with nights in the street, a drug-addicted boyfriend, a May-December romance with a high school teacher, and the culture shock encountered in educational and economic border-crossing. In addition to the story of one person and her friends, the narrative provides a universal paradigm of growth anyone can identify with. Moreover, the book includes a wealth of 1950's cultural and historical information not typically found in memoirs. This includes city tales about life on the rooftops and under the boardwalks, Forty-second Street before Disney, and Alan Freed's rock and roll shows. Whether your interest is in New York City, the fifties, or a teenager coming of age under adverse circumstances, the reader will be entertained and educated.

About the Author

Karen S. Kendler was born and raised in Manhattan. She attended P.S. 41, Hunter College Junior High School, and Bronx Science. Dr. Kendler has a B.S. from The City College of New York, a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Columbia Engineering. Dr. Kendler was Columbia Engineering?s HEOP director from 1978-1983 and then she a second career in the computer field. Songs from the Street is Dr. Kendler?s first book-length literary work as she continues to develop her lifelong passion for writing. She lives in New York City.