In his quintessential biography of Father Edward J. Flanagan, author Father Clifford Stevens paints an insightful, inspirational, and enlightening portrait of the man who founded Boys Town and led a cultural revolution that forever changed the way children were viewed, valued, and cared for in society.
Father Flanagan was a complex human being, greatly influenced by his upbringing in a loving, close-knit family, and by the countless teachers, priests, relatives, friends, and recipients of his kindness who guided and nurtured his life’s journey.
Father Stevens, a former Boys Town youth who knew the legendary priest, captures these experiences – the many milestone moments that made the man – to create a compelling story of Father Flanagan’s 61 years on earth, his triumphs and disappointments as an outspoken social reformer who was decades ahead of his time, and his legacy, which lives on today at Boys Town and in the seismic changes in child care he pioneered across America and around the world.
Highly detailed, extensively researched, and brimming with real-life drama, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know who Father Flanagan was as a man, a priest, an energizing social reformer, and one of the most important and influential advocates of children.
Published by Boys Town Press