Father Greg and the Homeboys: The Extraordinary Journey of Father Boyle and His Work with the Latino Gangs of East L.A. by Celeste Fremon

Father Greg and the Homeboys: The Extraordinary Journey of Father Boyle and His Work with the Latino Gangs of East L.A. Reviews

• 
  Trish

  Celeste Fremon met Father Boyle and learned of his work in the early 90's, and she published the first version of this book in 1995. Since then she has added an Introduction and Epilogue and continued her work witnessing and documenting the work of Father Greg Boyle in East Los Angeles. She is a senior fellow for Social Justice/New Media at the USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and runs a website on Criminal Justice in the public interest at
  WitnessLA.com.
  
  She tells the story of Father Boyle that he cannot tell, the successes and failures, perceptions of him among the community, the totality of what he brings to the marginalized. The only problem is that everything seems thrown together, which I understand is because it is real life and moving and therefore difficult to capture. I guess I'd hoped a journalist could do with language what us ordinary folks cannot. In any case, this is important documentation of an underserved community, to understate the situation.
• 
  Kittykate

  I read this book about Father Greg Boyle's work with the gangs in East L.A. after I read Boyle's own, recently published Tattoos on the Heart. I think this is the right order.
  Although I knew something about Homeboy Industries, one of the business Boyle started to help gang members turn their lives around, I was amazed by some of the stories told in this book. I laughed at some of them, cried about others.
  I learned a great deal about what motivates young people to join gangs, and about the deep-down goodness of the gang members. I learned how much the homies love Father Greg because he has loved them first, and how much resistance he met from his Church, the Jesuit Order, and the L.A. police department. I also discovered my own prejudices about the people served and loved by Father Greg.
  I found this book to be enlightening in the same way as Three Cups of Tea, and a most enjoyable read.
• 
  Grace

  Really loved this one. Highly recommend.
• 
  Drew

  If you are interested in gang life, this is a fine book to read. It details the inspiring work of a Jesuit priest in the midst of the worst gang area in LA. The power of love--real love--is transformative and the hope of the world.
• 
  LaRae

  This book from the 1990s is truly inspiring. It demonstrates what a difference truly caring about a community can make. Father Greg, purely by instinct, embodied the main factors necessary for building resiliency in the kids in his parish:
  caring and support,
  high expectation for success,
  opportunities for meaningful participation,
  positive bonds,
  clear and consistent boundaries,
  and good life skills. (from page 288)
  
  I look forward to reading the books Father Greg has written himself about his decades working with gang members.
  
  
• 
  Sher

  I stumbled across the work of Father Greg after listening to a podcast. I immediately became equally obsessed with and inspired by him. His refusal to give up on anyone is remarkable. He instructs us to stand in awe of the baggage people carry not in judgement. I can understand completely why the author has also dedicated herself to Homeboy industries and invested so much into it. While I enjoyed this book and think the author did a good job of portraying the homies and Greg, it (I read the kindle version) is crying out for the eye of a good proofreader. The numerous typos (I lost count) really grated on me.
• 
  Sheri Wagner

  3.5 stars. Depressing. Despite G’s Herculean and life-risking efforts, soooo much still went wrong. I feel I can understand better how kids end up living this life. Without decent parents, there’s not much else to turn to. Depressing. It’s reality though. Worth reading.
• 
  Amethyst Travis

  Impactful. Eye opening. Inspiring. Life changing. I have become a huge fan of Homeboy inc. I love Father Greg Boyle. Watch his TEDTalk or any of his YouTube clips. Amazing.
• 
  Jillian

  eye-opening, everyone should read
• 
  John Laliberte

  Excellent history... I found the Epilogue extremely informative and inspirational too!
• 
  Jennifer Olsen

  Excellent. 100% recommend for anyone familiar with Homeboy Industries and Father Greg or for those curious about gangs & gang life in East LA.
• 
  Ann

  Having read Father Greg Boyle's book, Tattoos on the Heart, I got my hands on this book to read about the early days of his work among the street gangs of LA. Both books together have had a huge impact on me ... mainly to remind me over and over again never NEVER to give up on people. At the heart of the most hardened criminal gang member as well as the child who's grown up in the most loving and stable of homes there is that innate desire to know that we're loved "no matter what" ... to know that somebody believes in us "no matter what". Father Greg Boyle has lived that out in the most heart breaking of mission settings in the streets of LA and over the years has had a deep and lasting impact on the lives of society's most rejected young people.
  In Celeste Fremon's book, I did feel as though there was not enough of the spiritual impact that Father Greg has had on the young men and women gang members ... perhaps it is just one of those "understood" things that she feels is obvious b/c he is a priest. Father Greg's book tells the spiritually redemptive story and this book by Celeste Fremon tells the story from a position that is more social worker in nature. That is not to say that she does not have an emotional stake in the story she tells, however, b/c that is also one of the strengths of the book, the author's own almost unwitting emotional involvement in the lives of these young people.
• 
  Ingrid

  "Gang violence is a lethal absence of hope."
  
  Wow...I was riveted and uplifted to read this book because despite all the valleys a community goes through, it's encouraging to see the impact one person who comes from a position of love can affect.
  
  I first heard about Father Greg Boyle when my best friend recommended I hear his interview on the podcast On Being. I was immediately engrossed, and became obsessive about understanding what the gang experience really entails, why people join, why it's something that doesn't seem to go away as readily. I think I have a better understanding, but mostly what I took away from the book was hope. I am encouraged by those who live their lives Christ-like-as we are truly called. We are called to love and embrace those around us because we are all in need of redemption and love. Father Boyle not only firmly believes that, but his actions have irrevocably impacted the homies in profound ways that society at large has often failed to do.
  
  "I feel like I can do it and do it reasonably well. But i am not called to do it...I discovered what I am called and meant to do. It is such a gift and the denial of it remains more painful than I often admit to myself."
  
  This quote desperately spoke to me too, as I went from a job filled with purpose and passion to a meaningless source of income. I want to get back to what I'm called to do too, and hope I'm as lucky as Father Boyle to make that happen.
• 
  Jason Squire Fluck

  First published back in the mid 1990's, G-Dog and the Homeboys outlines a period in the life of Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Priest who has committed his life to living with, caring for, and supporting the mostly Latino gang bangin' youth in East L.A. Fremon's first hand account-she shadowed Father Boyle for over 2 years-contains a fascinating look at a selfless man who fought tooth and nail to improve the lives of his teenage charges. Filled with tragedy and hope, Fremon's book proves that one person full of heartfelt conviction can have a significant, life-changing impact on a grand scale. Father Boyle knew that gang-banging can, and will, lead to teenagers killing teenagers over the smallest of slights-he officiated far too many funerals during the course of Fremon's research. He also believed that unconditional love and a job could create miracles, and Fremon's writing illustrates how Father Boyle put his beliefs into practice. He eventually created a financially successful jobs program called Homeboy Industries that provides jobs for ex-gang members. Google Father Boyle. You'll want to read this book.
  
  
• 
  Cheryl Klein

  I'm roughly the same age as some of the Boyle Heights gang members whom Celeste Fremon profiles in her well written account of the early days of Homeboy Industries and the worst days of L.A.'s gang wars. While the homies in question were fearing for their lives, losing hope and getting in trouble, I was a few miles (and an entire world) away, buying into the media's gang hysteria as Phil Donohue shamed crunchy-haired cholas for their unapologetic attitudes. What becomes immediately obvious upon reading the oral histories in the book: The homies are alternately wounded, childlike, wise beyond their years, funny, angry, hopeful, and hopeless, but there's not a truly bad person among them. Although Father Greg Boyle is a hero in the book and in real life, I'm equally intrigued by Fremon's own journey as she becomes radicalized by the love and violence she witnesses. Yes, people like Fr. Greg are rare, but the solutions to gang violence--a job, a little stability and a decent parental figure--don't have to be.
• 
  Tama Wise

  Following the true story of a priest working in the more dangerous areas of East Los Angeles, this book paints the bleak life of those stuck in gang life. Partly the observations of the author as she followed along with Father Greg, and partly the stories of gang members themselves it's an uncompromising look at their lives, that paints them as human beings rather than monster kids out of control.
  
  I found this book very heavy going towards the end. More often than not the gang members who tell their stories die as the book progresses, leaving others to tell their own story and express their grief of the loss of their friends. Devistating, and unapologetic, it's probably one of the few books I've wanted to end sooner due to it's emotional content.
• 
  Christina

  I recommend reading this with in conjunction with Fr. Greg Boyle's book, Tattoos on the Heart. While this is a touching, unrelenting view of Fr. Greg's early years in ministry, and the reality of life as a young male living in poverty, it lacks some of the spiritual touch and thoughtfulness of Fr. Greg's own reflections.
  
  I loved that there were portions of each chapter dedicated to the young people's own words though.
• 
  Barbara

  This is a must-read for everyone who has an interest in Los Angeles and the lives of the kids who end up in gangs. Written with incredible understanding and insight into the difficulties these young people encounter and what Father Greg Boyle has done with his life to help them, this is a book all Angelenos should read. It should be required reading in all middle or high schools.
• 
  Elizabeth

  This book was good, it just wasn't what I was hoping it would be. I really wanted to read the story of Homeboy Industries from its inception to present day and this book was definitely almost 100% the story of Father Greg and his relationships with the homeboys over the years, just like it says in the title. I hope he'll be inspired to write a book someday about Homeboy Industries.
• 
  Tim

  Amazing story... enough to make me want to move to California and help him. Parts of it get a little long, but the stories of the lives of the young men and women in East LA are incredible and Father Boyle's story is even more amazing.
• 
  Stone

  What it's about: This book is about latin gangs in east los angeles. People in their community are tired of all the killing over turf wars , drug money or just Retaliation
  
  What I think about it: I think its a very good book so far. it keeps me interested and it makes you want to read more