Come meet Emily Sweeney, author of Dropkick Murphy: A Legendary Life!

Join us on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7:30 PM for a special event. Hear about the inspiration behind the book, ask questions about the real John “Dropkick” Murphy, and even get your copy signed!

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with Emily Sweeney and delve into the world of Dropkick Murphy: A Legendary Life.

Admission is free but places must be reserved, either using EventBrite or contacting the bookshop directly.

Newspapers called him the “the man with the cast-iron toes,” “the best drop-kicker in wrestling,” and “one of the mat game’s biggest box office attractions.” But Dr. John “Dropkick” Murphy’s legacy extends far beyond the wrestling ring. Decades before the Betty Ford Center became a household name — and long before the band the Dropkick Murphys named themselves in his honuor — the phrase going to Dropkick’s meant a person struggling with addiction needed help and would soon get some.

This book chronicles for the first time the unbelievable life of Dr. “Dropkick” Murphy, a professional wrestler who put himself through medical school during the Great Depression and then opened Bellows Farm, a one-of-a-kind institution that served as both a facility where elite athletes could train as well as a secluded place where down-on-their-luck alcoholics could go to sober up discreetly.

The celebrities who frequented Dropkick Murphy’s farm were many, and numerous professional athletes would go there to focus on their training and work out in his state-of-the-art gymnasium. As a result, Bellows Farm featured an unrivaled and revolving cast of colorful characters who brought it to life. Drawing on years of research and interviews, author Emily Sweeney goes behind the scenes to reveal the untold story of Murphy’s life, his farm, and the legendary events that unfolded there.

Emily Sweeney is a journalist for The Boston Globe, covering local news and writing “Blotter Tales,” a weekly column that appears in the Metro section every Sunday, and “Cold Case Files,” a new series and newsletter about unsolved crimes.

Her areas of expertise include history, crime, and technology, and she’s the author of several nonfiction books, including “Boston Organized Crime,” “Gangland Boston,” and “Dropkick Murphy: A Legendary Life.”

A proud native of Dorchester, Sweeney graduated from Boston Latin School (where she made history as the first girl ever to play on the boys’ varsity ice hockey team) and Northeastern University (where she played on NU’s championship-winning Division 1 women’s ice hockey team).

As a journalist Sweeney has written about a range of topics — from the business of mining conflict minerals to overcrowding in prisons to living conditions in state institutions for the disabled — and she’s been featured on many TV and radio programs, making appearances on Court TV, the Travel Channel, Science Channel, BBC Radio, Beat the Press, Bloomberg Radio, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, NESN, and other media outlets.

She was most recently featured as a guest expert in “Bloody Boston,” a documentary series about organized crime in Boston, and she’s slated to appear in the forthcoming Netflix series “How To Become a Mob Boss.”

She currently serves on the board of directors for the New England First Amendment Coalition and the New England Society of News Editors.