Livin’ It: A Philly Memoir That Defies the Odds
A raw, humorous memoir of rebellion and survival in 1960s–70s Philadelphia, now a top-ranked Kindle memoirs seller.
By
Aug 21, 2025
NATIONWIDE - AUGUST 2025 - (USAnews.com) — On the streets of 1960s Philadelphia, a teenage Michael Perzel found himself face-to-face with choices that would shape his life. Knife fights, drug deals, and gang conflicts were not cinematic exaggerations but the daily reality of his youth. Yet from those turbulent beginnings, where tragedy could strike one moment and absurd humor the next, emerged a story too wild and too deeply felt to remain untold. That story became Livin’ It: True Story of a Bad Kid From Philly Who Defies the Odds, a memoir that has since broken into the top one percent of Amazon Kindle memoir sales and earned overwhelming five-star reviews.
This is not a sanitized tale of redemption. It is a lived account of chaos, camaraderie, and survival. What makes Perzel’s journey remarkable is not only what he endured but the way he tells it, with unflinching honesty, biting wit, and a knack for finding humor even in the bleakest corners of Philadelphia’s underworld.
A Childhood on the Edge
Perzel’s Philadelphia was a place of grit and contradiction. For some, the neighborhoods were tight-knit and predictable. For others, like young Michael, they were crucibles of rebellion. Authority was something to challenge, not respect, whether that authority wore a nun’s habit or carried a badge. The book vividly recounts one unforgettable episode involving a nun’s harsh tactics after a daring drugstore heist. Another scene lands the teenage Michael at a rural institution called the “Funny Farm,” where he stares down armed outlaws during what was supposed to be a visit to his grandmother.
While these moments shock and entertain, they also serve as markers of the high-stakes life he was leading. Drugs, violence, and hustles were not background noise; they were center stage. Each page underscores how close Michael came to becoming another casualty of his environment.
A Rollercoaster of Chaos and Humor
If Livin’ It were only a story of survival, it would still be compelling. What elevates it is the humor threaded throughout. Perzel’s and Mowat’s writing captures the absurdities of his youth—wild parties, motorcycle gang wars, and botched hustles—with a comedic lens that makes readers laugh even as they wince. His narrative voice is that of a storyteller who lived to tell the tale and refuses to let despair overshadow the absurdity of it all.
That mix of chaos and humor is why readers compare the book to both a crime thriller and a stand-up routine. It is also why five-star reviews continue to pile up, not from sympathy alone but from the sheer entertainment value. One reviewer captured it best: “You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be shocked this guy lived through it.”
Breaking Through: From Streets to Bestseller
When Livin’ It launched, it quickly found an audience. Within weeks, it climbed into the top one percent of Kindle memoir sales. Word of mouth, grassroots buzz, and a strong Philadelphia following propelled it forward. Michael Perzel and Rick Mowat could be considered the new voices of American memoir writing.
What makes the book resonate is not just the outrageousness of the events but the way Perzel and Mowat frames them. This is not a morality tale delivered from a pedestal. Instead, it is lived truth told from the inside, a raw and often hilarious reminder of what it meant to grow up on the edge of law and order in a bygone Philadelphia.
Why This Story Matters
In an era when memoirs flood the marketplace, Livin’ It stands out because it is neither polished to perfection nor written for shock value alone. It is gritty without being gratuitous, funny without being frivolous, and honest without being self-indulgent. Readers come away not only entertained but also struck by the resilience of a kid who should not have survived the world he was born into.
The book also fills a cultural gap. Philadelphia has produced no shortage of sports legends and cultural figures, but fewer stories have captured the street-level texture of its neighborhoods in the 1960s and 1970s. Livin’ It is, in many ways, an oral history of a city in flux, told through the eyes of a boy-turned-man who navigated its darkest corners and lived to tell the tale.
A Legacy in Print
For Michael Perzel, writing the memoir was more than catharsis; it was preservation. The stories that make up Livin’ It are part of his DNA, but they are also snapshots of a time and place that younger generations might never fully grasp. By setting them down, he has ensured they will live on not just as personal anecdotes but as part of Philadelphia’s cultural history.
That legacy is now reaching new readers every day. With its strong Amazon performance, glowing reviews, and coverage in publications like the Northeast Times, Livin’ It has become more than a book. It is a movement of shared memory.
Where to Find the Story
Readers ready to experience the wild, hilarious, and often shocking world of Livin’ It can find the book now on Amazon. They can also connect directly with Michael Perzel through his Facebook page for updates and conversations about the book. Additional coverage is available through the Northeast Times.
Closing: Why You Should Read Livin’ It
For readers drawn to memoirs that do not pull punches, that make you laugh while breaking your heart, and that remind you what it means to survive against impossible odds, Livin’ It belongs on your shelf. It is more than the story of one troubled kid from Philadelphia. It is a testament to resilience, to humor as a lifeline, and to the power of truth told raw and real.
Step into the streets of Philadelphia as few have dared to portray them. Read Livin’ It and experience the chaos, the tragedy, and the laughter of a life lived on the edge and, against all odds, lived to the fullest.
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