At thirteen, Deborah Digges's son Stephen was an angry, troubled boy who went roaming after midnight with gangs, tagging buildings with spray paint, and stealing cars–including his mother's. He had always been a restless, intelligent child, but he was growing up quickly and aggressively, with unrestrainable energy and a flair for risky and outrageous behavior. He refused to speak with his mother or to eat at the same table with her. Caught carrying a gun, he was expelled from the private school his mother could barely afford. Digges's husband left her, unable to cope with this impossible child from his wife's previous marriage.

In beautiful, vibrant prose–devoid of self-pity, anger, or blame–Digges describes her struggle to understand and protect her son as his behavior escalated beyond her control. Noting that Stephen still connected profoundly to their dog G. Q., however alienated from the people in his life, Digges took a risk. She adopted another bulldog, this one seriously ill with epilepsy. Buster needed medication several times a day to prevent seizures, and Stephen would have to help care for him. Stephen rose to the challenge, becoming much more empathetic and responsible in the process. At about the same time, Stephen asked his mother to take in a homeless friend, Trevor, a sixteen-year-old boy who had spent a year in a juvenile detention facility. Soon, Digges became Trevor's foster mother. The household was often chaotic with three dogs, two teenage boys, assorted cats, and a devoted single mother trying to balance parenthood with her teaching job.

This is the story of an unusual family who realizes how vitally they are tied to each other and to their animals. It is an inspiring and eye-opening memoir, a journey narrated by a mother who refused to give up on her son. At times touching, at times terrifying, The Stardust Lounge is a fiercely engaging, uniquely insightful, and inspiring portrait of male adolescence in our complicated world.