Neighborhood Lines

“A story of a Boston friendship that broke cultural boundaries…”

Neighborhood Lines by Author Michael Patrick Murphy

In the heart of Boston in the 1980’s—a city engulfed in turmoil and racial tensions, an unlikely friendship develops between two students at Cathedral High School. Patrick is an Irish-Catholic born leader. His friends follow him with blind allegiance. Nate is a young, disciplined, black athlete—focused on finding his way out of the neighborhood alive. The two young men find themselves on hectic school grounds, in a culture that shuns friendships like theirs.

Through a tragic turn of events, we see stereotypical statuses turned upside down. The contrasting characters display the power of individual choice and response to life’s circumstances. Though the corruption and racism of Patrick and Nate’s Boston culture posed an equal threat to both, their respective choices to pick themselves up, find their resolve, and get past their environment, caused them to rise above it all.

This is the story of a Boston friendship that crossed neighborhood lines, broke cultural boundaries, and propelled two adolescents to rethink the world around them. May we all be impacted by the education this eye-opening read has to offer!

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Michael Patrick Murphy was born south of Boston and comes from a family with strong native ties to South Boston. He spent ten years getting an education on Morrissey Boulevard– his high school and college years lived out in and around the areas of Dorchester, South Boston, and Boston. Inspired by stories his grandmother told him of the city’s history, and of his great-grandfather, Boston City Councilor Michael Mahoney, Murphy originally wrote Neighborhood Lines while in college. Read Full Bio→