"17 & Life" by Allen Callaci
In April 1983, Upland High School senior Anna Marie Bachoc was brutally murdered by her boyfriend, sending waves of shock and disbelief through the quiet city that had branded itself “the city of gracious living.” 17 & Life is a meditation on her life, the life that might have been, and the loss that still haunts the community three decades on.
One cannot help but care deeply about Allen Callaci's world, his pain, and his outlook--nor can one escape without experiencing a profound and powerful transformation.
—Mathieu Cailler, award-winning author of six books
Anna Marie Bachoc is gone now. Her name recognizable to students who pass the Upland High School flagpole on their way to the bus. Her name is on a small brass plaque surrounded by the names of UHS alumni lost in foreign wars. Unlike them, poor Anna Marie never got out of high school. Her name is flooded with rain in the spring, covered in leaves in the fall. Teachers and staff on campus who knew her, look at the name and tell other staff members her story in a hushed whisper. Allen Callaci does the impossible—he brings Anna Marie Bachoc back and tells her story in a loud voice. This beautiful girl, and her sad story and senseless murder, are brought to light in a searing half autobiographical/half melancholy ode to a girl whose small acts of kindness haunted Callaci, as he deals with a town's loss of innocence.
—Pat Jankiewicz, author/journalist
Trailer for 17 & Life by Allen Callaci. Photos by Buzzsaw. Vocals by Allen. Editing and drawings by Dennis.
Allen Callaci is the lead singer for the band Refrigerator, an adjunct professor at Mt Sac Community College, and a librarian at the Upland Public Library where he is the proud co-founder of the largest Star Wars library event on the West Coast. He is also a freelance writer whose work has appeared in MungBeing, the Poly Post, The Huffington Post, BK Nation, Cinefantastique, and various 'zines in the 90s. His memoir Heart Like a Starfish was released in 2016 on Pelekinesis. He hails from the Inland Empire region of Southern California.
- Company: Bamboo Dart Press
- Release Date: June 1, 2021
- Availability: 4
-
$7.99