Anita grew up in the 3rd story apartment above her family's Bohemian restaurant on Madison Street in Chicago's west side in the 50's and 60's. The daughter of a fireman and a housewife/frustrated writer, she befriended a ragtag brigade of children of immigrants and migrants. Together, they found both themselves and the world-at-large on their neighborhood's streets. Beautifully written, West Side Girl chronicles the colorful and oftentimes unpredictably eccentric characters and events of the area and time. Themes include social change, girls empowerment and the benefits of growing up in a diverse neighborhood. Seen through of the eyes of a child coming of age in the 1950's and 1960's, these true stories of the quest for equality and social justice are outrageous, insightful, funny, touching, inspiring and reflective. Profits from the sale of this book are donated to Off the Street Club, www.otsc.org.