A Clean Street’s a Happy Street
“A Clean Street’s a Happy Street” is James McSherry’s acclaimed memoir about growing up in the Bronx during a time of hardship, resilience, and transformation. Written with raw honesty and poetic clarity, the book paints a vivid portrait of family struggles, neighborhood life, and the search for identity amid poverty and mental illness.
Far from sentimental, McSherry’s storytelling captures both the pain and the beauty of his early life — the small triumphs, the moments of connection, and the humor that cuts through adversity. The memoir earned the BRIO Prize and was selected for the New York Public Library’s Young Adult Collection, ensuring its place as an important work in contemporary Bronx and New York literature.
American Boy
American Boy is a powerful nonfiction piece by James McSherry that paints an intimate, unflinching portrait of his older brother Tommy’s descent into mental illness, addiction and institutional life. Set in the Bronx where the author and his family struggle between hope and despair, the narrative moves from childhood memories of baseball and heroism to brutal encounters with police and the harsh realities of a MICA (Mentally Ill Chemically Addicted) facility. Through vivid scenes—a hallway showdown, a rooftop jump, a fight with smokers, a limp conversation in a car—the story explores the variables that turned a vibrant “American boy” into someone trapped between life and nothingness. McSherry’s voice is candid, raw, and full of emotional complexity: love, frustration, guilt and the weight of unfulfilled promises. Ultimately, the story asks what happens when the person you once looked up to becomes someone you deeply fear for—and still feel profoundly connected to.
Other Published Works
Lips (Essay – Sequestrum)
A deeply personal essay exploring memory, family, and identity. Published in Sequestrum.
American Boy (Essay – Columbia Journal)
A compelling work about love, identity, and mental illness set in NYC, published in Columbia Journal.
Poetry Man (Short Film, 2010)
A short film inspired by true events, starring Peter Greene, which premiered at Cannes Short Film Corner and won the Audience Award at the Manhattan Film Festival.
See more on IMDb
James McSherry 