Fitzgerald nestles comfortably on a bar stool beside writers like Kerouac, Bukowski, Richard Price and Pete Hamill…The book's charm is in its telling of male misbehavior and, occasionally, the things we men get right. The fights nearly all come with forgiveness. It is about the ways men struggle to make sense of themselves and the romance men too often find in the bottom of a bottle of whiskey... an endearing and tattered catalog of one man's transgressions and the ways in which it is our sins, far more than our virtues, that make us who we are.

New York Times Book Review

Isaac Fitzgerald's memoir-in-essays is a bighearted read infused with candor, sharp humor, and the hope that comes from discovering saints can be found in all sorts of places.

Rolling Stone, "Top Culture Picks of the Month"

Dirtbag, Massachusetts is the best of what memoir can accomplish. It's blisteringly honest and vulnerable, pulling no punches on the path to truth, but it always finds the capacity for grace and joy.

Esquire, "Best Memoirs of the Year"

Told without piety or violin strains of uplift, but rather, an embrace of the chaos of just getting by.

Chicago Tribune, "Books for Summer 2022: Our Picks"

Fitzgerald reflects on his origins-and coming to terms with self-consciousness, anger, and strained family relationships. His writing is gritty yet vulnerable.

TIME, "27 New Books You Need to Read This Summer"

Fitzgerald never stopped searching for a community that would embrace him. That search took him from San Francisco to Burma (now Myanmar), and he candidly shares the formative experiences that helped him put aside anger to live with acceptance and understanding.

Washington Post, "12 Noteworthy Books for July"