Grow up, Rory Rafferty
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Description
Awards & Endorsements
Author(s)
Bruce W. Bishop
Related Titles
| Publisher | Bruce Bishop Publishing |
| Publication | Oct 31, 2024 |
| Format | Paperback/Softback |
| ISBN | 9781777414191 |
| Pages | 286 |
| Age | 18 - 99 |
| Price | $14.49 |
Grow up, Rory Rafferty
Learning to be your own best friend
In 1979, when an introverted young man with culinary aspirations comes of age in Toronto after taking his first job at a private women's club, he risks being devoured by the city's elite.Rory Rafferty embarks on a journey that will shape not only his future, but his very identity. A shy twenty-year-old from a Nova Scotian coastal town, Rory dreams of owning a seafood restaurant, but first he must navigate the glittering maze of Canada's largest city.
When he lands a job as a busboy at an exclusive women's club, he enters a world brimming with culinary delights, eccentric friends, and the pulse of the city's nightlife. But amidst the glamour, Rory grapples with identifying and accepting his sexual orientation after assuming he didn't have one during his teenage years...
In Grow Up, Rory Rafferty, follow our main character's tumultuous journey to self-acceptance—a tale woven with misadventures, personal revelations, and the heady rush of first love.
Set against a backdrop twenty years before the Internet changed our lives, this heartwarming novel about young adulthood dives deep into the joys and challenges of youth. It offers a poignant reminder of the timeless quest to find oneself in a world filled with social biases and unexpected romance.
Whether you've grown up in a Gen Z world, or if you fondly recall the vibrant tapestry of the late seventies and early eighties, step into Rory Rafferty's captivating universe.
Meet Rory and a cast of unforgettable globetrotting characters who breathe life into a somewhat less complicated era.
PRAISE FOR GROW UP, RORY RAFFERTY
Bruce Bishop's fictional histories hold more truth than most textbooks. He seeks out the silenced voices of LGBT+ people, poor people, and others on the edge of Canadian history, and puts them centre page.
- Jon Tattrie, Author of Peace by Chocolate
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As a Toronto boomer, Grow up, Rory Rafferty was a welcome trip to the Toronto of my youth when things seemed to be less complicated than today. Rory's story is an important one — a young man struggling with his emerging sexuality and having to confront uncomfortable aspects about himself. Highly recommended!
- Kathleen Sharpe, Founding Executive Director, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund
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“I looked forward to each reading time, to join the characters on their journey, to bear witness to their successes and their disappointments, the gains and the losses, and just often enough, some dreams coming true. … I highly recommend this novel.”
- Anne Smith-Nochasak, author of A Canoer of Shorelines
Rated 4.9 on Amazon
Reviews, Awards & Endorsements
Very positive reviews and ratings from several avid readers on Goodreads.
A full review of Grow up, Rory Rafferty by author Anne Smith-Nochasak.
A series of photos related to all four of my novels.
Visuals from Grow up, Rory Rafferty were taken at the novel's book launch in mid-November, 2024.
Mark McNease, an American author and Emmy winner, interviewed me a second time once Grow up, Rory Rafferty was released.
The biography placed on the website of the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia is in the process of updating.
Author
Bruce W. Bishop
I was born and raised in a small town in eastern Canada. From a young age, I dreamt of seeing the world, but as I'm more of an introvert than extrovert, I'm not sure how I somehow managed to carve out a freelance career as a travel journalist and guidebook author for over a decade.
Novel writing was initially a novelty that began in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown. I enjoyed the exercise so much that I wrote two follow-up books.
The fictitious characters in my novels are ordinary and somewhat forgotten souls in history who are faced with extraordinary options and decisions to make. What happens when adults are not what and who they are expected to be?
Unconventional Daughters (2020) was followed by Uncommon Sons (2021) and Undeniable Relations (2022), and the three are interlinked. They are set in the early to mid-20th century primarily in Nova Scotia, Canada. They can be read on their own, and not necessarily in any order.
Grow up, Rory Rafferty (2024), a coming-of-age dramedy that takes place in Toronto, Canada, in 1979-80 may be the first in another trilogy. Its follow-up, Stephanie Makes a Scene, is also a standalone novella, and was published in mid-April 2026.