60 words

Lovers, Dreamers, & Thieves is about the warm, rowdy, lovable, and sometimes criminal characters of the author’s early life, including a grandfather who staged fake Polish weddings, a great-grandmother who was a blacksmith, and a cousin who collects nun dolls. But also, a father taken away in handcuffs, a mother in love with a priest, an uncle in the Mafia.

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418 words

In this touching yet wickedly funny memoir, Marcia Cebulska gives you a peek behind the curtain to see what life was like in the family bakery that adjoined her childhood home. You will meet the warm, rowdy, lovable, and sometimes criminal characters of her life: a grandfather who stages fake Polish weddings; a parakeet that rides on the head of the pet dog; a cousin who collects nun dolls. But also: a father taken away in handcuffs; a mother in love with a priest; an uncle in the mob.

Being a playwright and novelist, Cebulska is a superb storyteller who, in short, captivating vignettes, portrays her memories as individual, evocative, beautifully told worlds in themselves. Woven together, these stories tell a larger tale, one of desire and struggle, passion and defeat, dancing and joy. Reading LOVERS, DREAMERS, & THIEVES is a stimulating and enriching walk in another time, another life.