Joe O’Donnell was born and raised in Massachusetts before finding his true home in San Francisco. His professional career peaked prematurely when he became the manager of a suburban record store in the 1980s, before evolving into a long career in marketing, brand creation, and creative direction. Often described as “just too gay,” Joe has spent decades in therapy—which, eventually and inevitably, led him to pick up a pen after a dare from his therapist.

His debut memoir, Another Generation Ruined, was a finalist for the Santa Fe Writers Program Literary Award. Excerpts from the book have appeared in Avalon Literary Review and as a featured essay on I Have That on Vinyl. He is currently developing a screenplay adaptation.

Joe lives in San Francisco.

ABOUT AGR

Set in the suburbs of 1980s Massachusetts, Another Generation Ruined follows a boy trapped inside a divorce so vicious it spills into national headlines, leaving him caught between his mother’s wrath and a church eager to condemn. As his family implodes, his deepest secret, being gay, feels impossible to survive.

Refuge comes in unlikely forms: a suburban record store, the guiding voice of Tina Turner, and the saving grace of pop music. Against a freewheeling Gen-X backdrop of heavy metal, roller skating, drugs, and estrangement, Another Generation Ruined is a brutally candid and wicked-funny memoir about resilience, chosen family, and a boy determined to make it out alive.

PHOTO: JAMES WILLS