The Autumn Balloon

“Porpora’s coming-of-age memoir is a brilliant debut from a fine writer with an intriguing way of viewing the world . . . four stars out of four.” — USA Today Every autumn, Kenny Porpora would watch his heartbroken mother scribble messages on balloons and release them into the sky above Long Island, one for each family member they’d lost to addiction. As the number of balloons grew, his mother fell deeper into alcoholism, drinking away her sorrows every night in front of the television, where he