Wonderland: A Tale of Hustling Hard and Breaking Even

A “touching memoir” (The New York Times Book Review) that “brilliantly blends a history of Boston and its surrounding areas with the history of a fascinating—and at times functional—family” (Isaac Fitzgerald, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts) as one girl discovers how to break free from the criminal underworld that surrounds her.

Nicole Treska was born to a family of gangsters. In the 1970s, during Boston’s mob wars, her grandfather’s diner was an unofficial headquarters for Whitey Bulger and other members of the Winter Hill Gang. Nicole’s father was also an associate of the gang: there was talk that, before Nicole could walk, her stroller was used as a decoy to sell drugs. In 1985, her father was arrested and tried—sentenced to two years in prison for federal drug trafficking.

Wanting to offer a better life to her children, Nicole’s mother moved her and her sister out of Boston. As an adult, Nicole strove to separate herself from her past, establishing a career as a writer and professor in New York City. But when she learns her father’s sister has passed away, she returns to her hometown and reunites with her dad—now stooped and struggling to walk on a bad knee. As she gets reacquainted with him and the old neighborhood, Nicole is forced to reconcile with her harrowing childhood and its lingering impact.

A “compelling portrait” (Safiya Sinclair, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of How to Say Babylon) “written with urgency, vulnerability, and compassion” (Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter), Wonderland masterfully explores and elucidates the line between helping family and hurting ourselves.