The silence and reluctance of author James A. Lynch's youth has been left behind; he has become a storyteller in the true form of grandfathers everywhere. In "A Boy Named Jim, " he provides a look into slices of his life. This memoir presents the true story of Lynch's journey from the innocence of childhood in a small midwestern town; through the rollicking good times of the teenage years, college, and navy life; through thirty years of the dark depths of chronic alcoholism; and finally through the process of recovery and sobriety. "A Boy Named Jim" tells of Lynch's heartbreaks and failures, as well as the miracles and faith that brought him back to reality to live the life of a spiritually peaceful and gracious old man. "That morning ... I finally realized what I had become, what I was, and what I probably would always be: a hopeless, helpless drunk. I didn't amount to anything, never had, and never would. I feared I would probably die in a drunken stupor somewhere, or I would be permanently institutionalized. I didn't realize until sometime later, lying cut and bruised in a strange basement, I had been granted two important things: a moment of clarity and the gift of desperation. "