Ragged Run

by Barnaby Dinges

Its the early 1960s in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Lincoln Park, Chicago. Nine-year-old Barnaby Dinges and older brother, Casey, are living a charmed childhood with their stylish mom, Ricka, who has the soul of a great writer; and cool dad, Chuck, a hot-shot advertising exec with a flair for slogans that would make Mad Mens Don Draper envious. In what seems like the span of a minute, the rug is pulled out from under the two boys as trouble brews on the horizon. That trouble would rob Barnaby and Casey of both parents within two years, but it wouldnt stop there. Their grave losses would bring the siblings trials and despair spanning the next decade, in the form of a loveless foster family who challenged both Barnaby and Casey to a breaking point...and eventually, to fight back with everything they had. Ragged Run is a memoir about survival, hope, and the determination to make it through tomorrow. With insight and humor, and aided by Rickas journal (found a decade after her death), Barnaby recounts his journey from painful loss, to impermanent hopelessness, to true happiness. The result is a moving tribute to his family, one that will speak to anyone who has experienced their own ragged run through the often trying streets of life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2019

Reviews

[Crystal Zavala]

Ragged Run is a memoir written by Barnaby Dinges about his upbringing after his parents suddenly pass away when he is seven years old. Barnaby and his older brother Casey are taken in by another family that attends the same private school as Barnaby and Casey. The foster parent's motives are not altruistic as they would have people believe. They use Barnaby and Casey as extra help by having them do extra chores. The boys have a significant inheritance and social security funds that are used to remodel the foster parent's home and other unnecessary expenses.

The first part of the book is short and talks about the boys' parents and their lives with him. Their mom is an aspiring writer and includes excerpts of her writing. Her writing style is sarcastic and witty. I could probably read an entire book of her writings. She definitely had potential as a writer. The boys' Dad was in advertising and worked very hard.

The second part of the book is the boys' lives with their foster family. The boys really did have it rough, but I struggled to relate to Barnaby. There were several situations where an adult behaved in a racist manner and although this is a memoir and set in the 1960s, I did not feel that it was necessary to be repeated. There were many stories of Barnaby and his friends acting in "boys will be boys" ways and I just wasn't amused. Barnaby is lucky that he got away with these things and it really showed his privilege even as he wasn't treated appropriately by his foster family.

The book ends very abruptly when Barnaby moves out of the foster home at 17. I expected that I would learn about Barnaby in college and his discovery of his mothers writings. I also wanted to know if his foster family had spent all of his money.

In the end, this book is not for me. I understand that many of the stories that happened in these books happened in the 1960s and may have been normal or accepted at the time, that does not mean that they needed to be shared. I did not learn anything from Barnaby. This book was written as a type of therapy for Barnaby, but I am not sure that it needed to be published.

[Mitalee | TheAvidBookerfly]

Ragged Run is a memoir of survival, hope, and determination. Barnaby and his sibling lost their parents when they were young and life wasn't the same for them after the incident.
Having to live with a foster family and facing all the trials and tribulations, they finally make it through the often trying streets of life.
The first part of the book was very short and didn’t go into the details of Barnaby's life. I enjoyed the elaborative second part but somehow felt that the ending was abrupt and brief. I would have wanted to know more about what happened in his life once he leaves the foster family. I liked that there are pictures of his personal life to make a connection with the reader. Having said that, the details in the book at times are unnecessary and pretty much normal considering the timeline of this story.

Overall, it was an inspiring read but I wished it was a more finished and a whole story!

Disclaimer : I received a free copy from the publisher and it has not affected my review. All opinions are my own.

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[Philip]

Set in the 1960s and 1970s Lincoln Park area of Chicago, this memoir covers the author’s early years with two loving parents, and then his late childhood and adolescent years with an exploitative foster mother.

In an engaging writing style, the author recounts such misfortune and meanness that he could have become either enraged or depressed. Yet the book is not an exercise in raging or playing the victim. The memoir reveals the sense of adventure and fun, intelligence, and determination that enabled him to survive. His narrative also reveals the importance of a good school and connections with a few trustworthy and encouraging neighborhood adults.

I’m guessing that writing this book was therapeutic for the author. He was able to write in a matter-of-fact manner, accepting what happened and even drawing life lessons from it. I’m left with an appreciation of the author’s vulnerability and a desire to engage life as fully as he.

[Julie]

I had the opportunity to attend a book talk by Barnaby Dinges before reading The Ragged Run, so I had insight into his goal in writing the memoir and more background on his story. After attending the book talk, I sat down with a glass of wine and read the book in one sitting. His story is sad, touching, maddening - and inspiring. The experiences Barnaby had as a young orphaned boy and child in a troubling foster home were life-changing, but he did not let them become life-defining.

[David Rosen]

An honest and compelling memoir. I highly recommend it.