I wanted to yell at Mr. O'Dea's father! He kept bailing him out time after time. He was a spoiled, aimless young man with very little parental guidance and was attention seeking. Instead of providing the tough love he needed to smarten up, he was given more and more undeserved chances. This does not help a kid grow up and take responsibility for his actions. There was some kind of strange dynamic in the family where they all seemed disassociated which wasn't really explained or explored. His 'mother' was heartless to the end. Yes, it was a blessing that he finally picked himself up off the street and turned his life around but by half way through, I skimmed the rest of the book because the name dropping and the religious references were a lot more than I could take. I had been wanting to read this book for a long time but was truly disappointed. I have read a LOT of similar life stories and this one left me not wanting more, but wanting it to be finished. ( )