Ghosts of Fourth Street; My Family, A Death, and the Hills of Duluth by Laurie Hertzel

Laurie Hertzel was the books editor at the Star Tribune for fifteen years and Ghosts of Fourth Street is her second memoir. Ghosts of Fourth Street tells the story of the death of Hertzel’s brother when she was nine years old and the profound effect it had on her family. As the seventh of ten children, Hertzel moved almost invisibly as she observed her family in the before and after of brother Bobby’s death.

Moving back and forth in time, Hertzel reflects on Bobby’s death and what happens to a family when no one can talk about a tragedy and its toll. The memoir is told from the perspective of young Laurie, a bright and precocious child who read from an early age and developed into a journalist committed to truth and storytelling. A vivid portrait of Duluth during the 1960’s and a poignant story of a family moving through grief.