Embedded Files
My Ride Through Life: A Cambridge Kid Finds Identity in Dirt Lots, City Schools, and Reggae Beats
Published in October, 2025
paperback:
Stores (I replenish copies as they are sold)
• Belmont Books (2 copies, biography section - you can order from them online!)
• Harvard Bookstore (3 copies, biography section)
• The Book Rack (in Arlington, 3 copies, local authors section)
• Porter Square Books (they're carrying it, but a bit slow to put a new one on the shelf when bought - but as of 11/8 they do have one on the shelf)
• Bryn Mawr Books (1 copy, Cambridge section)
• Barrow Bookstore (in Concord, 3 copies, as of Nov. 12)
Libraries
• Arlington Public Library (Robbins branch, local authors section)
• Cambridge Public Library (ebook and audio book - can order paperback through Minuteman network)
• Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Library (should be avaiilable by 12/10/25)
Online Sellers:
• Amazon
• Walmart
audiobook:
• Audible
• TuneIn
• Kobo App
• Everand
• Hoopla
• Soon available on Spotify
DESCRIPTION:
My Ride Through Life traces the author’s family roots and follows the winding path of his early life, transporting the reader back to the world of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1960s and ‘70s, and navigating the neighborhoods of Boston in the 1980s and ‘90s. Along the way, he raises important and universal questions: How do our families and communities influence our views on race and rights, class and culture? In what ways do our curiosities and insecurities affect the direction we take in life? What aspects of our identities are essential to who we are?
In this fun, honest, and thought-provoking memoir, Anthony Beckwith uses lively anecdotes and a conversational style to share his story and invite readers to reflect on the sources of their own identities. Insightful, warm, and full of unexpected turns, My Ride Through Life will resonate with readers of all ages and backgrounds.
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• The Substack will contain writings, musings, observations, and bonus material for the book
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Audio clip from the middle of Ch.5, about sneaking into the not-yet-done new CRLS building in 1979:
Japser, thinking deeply next to My Ride Through Life
(photo and cat courtesy Rob Kirwan)
Explore the MY RIDE THROUGH LIFE:
PRAISE FOR MY RIDE THROUGH LIFE:
“This memoir taps into universal experiences using candid storytelling. It’s about growing up, uncertainty, struggle, love, pain, joy, and everything in between. It brought back flashes of my childhood. Beckwith artfully weaves his contemplations, journal entries, and poetry with lyrical inspiration.”
- Meta Partenheimer, Cambridge Historical Commission
“This work is both engaging and inviting, drawing the reader in. Anyone who has ever questioned how life’s journey shapes who they’ve become, who they are becoming, will relate to Anthony’s honest, transparent and vulnerable book about his life. Throughout the book I found myself diving into the same questions Anthony ponders - What shapes who we are? What experiences throughout life form one’s identity?”
- Sara Kiesselbach, high school teacher
"Anthony is a tireless tinkerer of everyday systems (biking, coding, music, teaching), leading him to a deeper understanding of how the world works—and a clear sense of how he fits into it. His story invites us to reflect on our own inner development."
- Robert Kirwan, documentary filmmaker & Cambridge native
"As soon as I got it, and I found it hard to put down. It’s just so delightful, warm and honest. I hope many folks get to immerse themselves in the exploits and insights that you experienced and expressed."
- Susan S., licensed therapist & Cambridge resident
"My Ride Through Life is a compelling coming-of-age story told with humor and compassion. What grabs the reader is the author's struggle to find himself, along with the questions he raises—questions that many of us have also faced."
- Susan Pollack, journalist and author, "Gloucester Fisherman's Wives Cookbook"
"Anthony has a wonderful and inspiring way of sharing his life with the world."
- Nick Salmon, co-author of
"teamED: Building more effective teams for education, projects and communities."
"The writing is so unfettered and generous. Anthony tells the story and lets it lead to his own questions, which then become universal and provocative"
- Kathe Mazur, actor and Cambridge native
"I don't think I've encountered a writing voice like this before-- open, friendly, inquisitive."
- Ned Resnikoff, Software Developer, longtime Cambridge resident
From the Introduction:
"The question of your true identity, of the part of yourself that is unchanging, is a challenging one; defining a person is an almost impossible task. One of the reasons for my decision to write an account of my life was so that I could take a ride down that road towards an answer. Maybe, for you, taking in the details of one person’s life will help you to at least consider the answers to these questions for yourself—and even be inspired to sit down and begin to tell your own unique story."
For more information, contact me at anthonyrbeckwith@gmail.com
FYI: AS OF 9/24/25, I AM WORKING ON A SECOND BOOK. STAY TUNED...
...at the Book Rack in Arlington
...at Harvard Bookstore
Excerpt from Chapter 5: Hi, School...
Excerpt from Ch. 10: Let the Music Play...
Excerpt from Ch.13: Alternatives...
More about my projects at: abeckwith.net
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