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In the Name of the Boss Upstairs by Jerry Hopkins - Paperback The Father Ray Brennan Story The Pattaya Orphanage made Father Ray Brennan a famous man who was praised by religious leaders and honored by Thailand's royal family and governments around the world. Still, he never abandoned the gruff voice he claimed came from the tough Chicago South Side, nor surrendered his childlike love of practical jokes and ice cream. This biography was authorized by the priest's family and the Father Ray Foundation, and all proceeds from its sale go to pay the cost of higher education for the children in the schools and homes he founded. However, it was agreed that no punches would be pulled in telling Father Ray's story and an internationally recognized biographer was charged with the writing. Allegations of pedophilia, which surfaced near the end of the priest's life, are fully examined. Father Ray emerges as a human being with a special mission from the Boss Upstairs. Legend has it that, as a young man, Father Ray Brennan wanted nothing to do with children or teaching. Nor did he wish to go to Thailand. The truth is not so simple. Yet there is no questioning the man's remarkable record in this Southeast Asian country, as a founder of an orphanage famed around the world, as well as schools for the disabled, and of refuges for street children and the stateless elderly. Born into a devout Irish Catholic family in Chicago, Father ray spent his first decade in Thailand in the Northeast, where elephants sometimes provided the only transportation. There he cared for small congregations in poor hilltribe areas and preached to U.S. soldiers stationed there during the Vietnam War. It was on his next assignment, in a coastal village that had become a recreation center for soldiers on leave, that a poor woman first asked him to assume custody for her newborn fatherless child. The Pattaya Orphanage was thus humbly begun. In the next two decades, it grew to become home for 150 children, ranging from infants to young adults. The orphanage also gave rise to such projects as the vocational school for the disabled, which won acclaim for for its instruction in computer programming and electronics repair, besting all rivals in nationwide competitions and guaranteeing every graduate a job. In 2003, when Father Ray died at age 70, there were more than 750 people in his care. This heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking, story tells of the triumphant struggle to keep an organization going when a priest who couldn't say no insisted on taking in more of the needy than reason could justify ... in a country thought by him at one time as the farthest ends of the earth. "Your untiring efforts are a source of inspiration to us all. Children are the hope of our future throughout the world and what better calling than to ensure they have a chance to enjoy what many of us take for granted. These innocent and defenseless children are blessed to have you as their role model."President Ronald Reagan, in a letter to Father Ray. About the Author:
Jerry Hopkins is the author of twenty-eight books, including best-selling biographies of numerous entertainment personalities in the United States and England. His biography of rock singer Jim Morrison, No One Here Gets Out Alive, was a number one best-seller on the New York Times list and remains in print after more than two decades. Other biographical subjects include Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Yoko Ono. He has worked as a writer-producer for Mike Wallace and Steve Allen, and for twenty years served Rolling Stone as a correspondent and contributing editor. He has lived in Thailand since 1993. Paperback
Thomas J Vincent Foundation
301 pages
Bangkok 2004
ISBN 0975928414 Click here for more books by Jerry Hopkins
For delivery in Thailand please go to
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