Diary of an Irish Grandma


Book Description

I wrote this book during the Covid-19 lockdown, Feb-July 2020. It was important to me to pass on my Irish heritage to my girls. I want them to know what it was like growing up in the fifties in Ireland surrounded by the richness of extended family and the love of music. The heartbreak of leaving home, the stupid mistakes I made because of insecurities and the importance of having God in one’s life. And most of all because my Granddaughter asked me to do it.




Who's Irish?


Book Description

In this dazzling collection of short stories, the award-winning author of the acclaimed novels Thank You, Mr. Nixon and Mona in the Promised Land—presents a "sparkling ... gently satiric look at the American Dream and its fallout on those who pursue it" (The New York Times). The stories in Who's Irish? show us the children of immigrants looking wonderingly at their parents' efforts to assimilate, while the older generation asks how so much selfless hard work on their part can have yielded them offspring who'd sooner drop out of life than succeed at it. With dazzling wit and compassion, Gish Jen looks at ambition and compromise at century's end and finds that much of the action is as familiar—and as strange—as the things we know to be most deeply true about ourselves.




Encyclopedia of Grannies


Book Description

Why do grannies always tell us to speak up? Why do they have creases on their faces? Are grannies flexible? How do you cheer up a sad granny? How old are grannies, actually? Eric Veill explains it all in this offbeat book for the extended family to chuckle over--no matter what kind of grandma you have, are, or would like to be. From the author of My Pictures after the Storm, which received three starred reviews and which School Library Journal proclaimed "may be the funniest book of the year."




Mother Ireland


Book Description

"Mother Ireland" includes seven essays seamlessly woven into an autobiographical tapestry. In her lyrical, sensuous voice, O'Brien describes growing up in rural County Clare, from her days in a convent school to her first kiss to her eventual migration to England. Weaving her own personal history with the history of Ireland, she effortlessly melds local customs and ancient lore with the fascinating people and events that shaped he young life. The result is a colorful and timeless narrative that perfectly captures the heart and soul of this harshly beautiful country.




The Diary of a Mad Chef


Book Description

This family cookbook morphed into much more for me during the writing process. It began by contacting friends and family to collect recipes for what I thought would be a simple process. During those conversations and with my own memories, a flood of personal history evolved in my mind. What began as a repository of food recipes became much more to me, and I decided to collect the process in the form of this book, The Diary of a Mad Chef, to also include photos of those people and selected short stories. Food has always been the center of our family's common narrative thread, and I attempted to place the face and the stories of my friends and family with the recipes as I remember them. Along with the feedback and photos from my friends and family, it became a two-year-long effort to compile, edit, and publish this book. The journey has been a magnificent experience for me, and I am grateful to have had the time and opportunity to write this book.




Grandmother's Grandchild


Book Description

A memoir expresses the poverty, personal hardships, and prejudice of the author's life growing up as a second generation Crow Indian on a reservation, and the bond she formed with her grandmother, a medicine woman.




M for Mammy


Book Description

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'Heart-breaking, heart-warming, and hilarious: a glorious debut' Ruth Hogan 'Strong and taut' Anne Griffin 'Fresh, thoughtful and original' Irish Times 'I really enjoyed this, Eleanor is a lovely writer' Sheila O'Flanagan Meet the Augustts: Ma and Da, Jenny and Jacob, and their no-nonsense Granny Mae-Anne. Complicated as only families can be, they are bound together by their love for one another, and for a piping hot bag of chips. When misfortune strikes and Granny moves in, they learn to understand each other anew through new stories and old memories. Sometimes, in a family as complicated as the Augustts, it's not always what is spoken that makes the most sense. M for Mammy is an uplifting story about the unique comfort of home, the language we can find when the words aren't there, and the power of a family to heal itself. 'A heartfelt debut about love, understanding and the complicated ties of family' Prima 'Lovely, sharp, compassionate, well-observed writing' Felicity Hayes-McCoy 'Channelling the warm heart and good cheer of Marian Keyes . . . very amusing' Irish Independent 'Exuberant. A brilliant, bubbly new voice' Irish Examiner 'A gloriously funny, bittersweet debut' Ireland of the Welcomes




How to Fake an Irish Wake


Book Description

FROM USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND FAMILY HISTORIAN ELIZA WATSON! "This is a sparkling tale of Irish ways, mysteries and friendship." —5-Stars "Love, love, loved this book! I wish I could give it 5k stars!" —5 Stars, Becky on Goodreads It’s been a rough year for 26-year-old Mags Murray. First she learns that her dad isn’t her biological father, a secret her mother took to her grave three years earlier. Then her beloved Irish grandmother passes away at Christmas while Mags is visiting her from the States. Now Mags must host her grandmother’s wake and sell her cottage. A cottage filled with cherished memories. A cottage Mags inherited but her odd jobs won’t enable her to keep. Shortly after the funeral, a young man, Finn O’Brien, arrives at the cottage with an old photograph. Finn believes the boys in the photo are a clue to his father’s identity. Mags can sympathize with him, and because she often helped her genealogist grandmother uncover skeletons in people’s closets, including hers, she agrees to assist Finn. But searching for Finn’s father stirs up trouble. Finn is in a near-fatal car crash that wasn’t an accident. So Mags and her childhood friend Biddy McCarthy investigate why someone wants to prevent Finn from finding his father. Questioning the quirky locals proves a wee bit difficult as several of the suspects were victims of Mags and Biddy’s childhood shenanigans. It might take a fake Irish wake to reveal Finn’s father and the would-be murderer. But what if the two turn out to be the same person? **Genealogy research tips included!** Other readers of Eliza Watson’s books enjoyed books by: Addison Moore, Alyssa Maxwell, Angie Fox, Carlene O'Connor, Cate Martin, Catie Murphy, Ellery Adams, Fiona Grace, Jana Deleon, Janet Evanovich, Joanne Fluke, Kennedy Layne, Laura Durham, Lee Strauss, Leighann Dobbs, Paige Shelton, Rhys Bowen, Shanna Swendson, Sheila Connolly, and Tonya Kappes. Topics: Cozy Mysteries Amateur Sleuth, Mysteries Amateur Sleuth, International Cozy Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries Women Sleuths, Genealogy, Family History, Ancestry, Family Trees, Fiction Set in Ireland, Humorous Cozy Mystery, Humorous Beach Read, International Mysteries, Chick Lit Mystery, Friendship Fiction, Witty Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Cozy Mysteries Set in Europe, Cozy Mysteries, Funny Beach Read, Cozy Mysteries How To, Cozy Mysteries like Stephanie Plum, Cozy Mystery Series, Cozy Mysteries in Ireland, Cozy Mystery Funny, Cozy Mystery Amateur Detective, Mysteries like Stephanie Plum




The Diary


Book Description

Two sisters discover startling secrets in their mother’s old journal in this “poignant” novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Garden of Lies (Debbie Macomber). Emily and Sarah Marshall are cleaning out their dying mother’s attic when Emily finds an old leather diary. Their mother’s handwriting on the yellowed pages takes them back to a small Nebraska town in the summer of 1951, where sheltered, almost-engaged Elizabeth Harvey is swept into a clandestine romance with AJ, her rebellious childhood friend. When AJ becomes the prime suspect in a neighborhood fire, Elizabeth has to make the most difficult decision of her young life and choose between passionate but unpredictable AJ and her stable, longtime beau, Bob. Shocked to learn that their mother was in love with a man other than their father, Emily and Sarah must confront painful truths about their mother, their father, and ultimately, themselves. Moving and uplifting, with a surprise ending readers won’t see coming, The Diary is a novel about the mysteries of romantic love and the unassailable bond between parents and children.




Diary and Memoirs of an Incarcerated Granny


Book Description

'The Diary and Memoirs of an Incarcerated Granny' is a frank 'lockdown diary' full of anecdotes, musings, reminiscences and irreverent commentary. Author Angela Lister has looked at an unprecedented year through the prism of lockdown, to produce a remarkable book that is both a diary and an autobiography. She eloquently contrasts her incarceration at home during lockdown with memories of spending five years living in the Dordogne with her late husband, James. She combines charm, warmth and a mischievous sense of humour in this candid and entertaining read. The author's witty and vibrant pen covers subjects such as downsizing, family, friendships, dogs called Poppy and Violet, food, politics and Zoom. 'The Diary and Memoirs of an Incarcerated Granny' is a cathartic romp through the seasons of a unique year. In Angela's own words, it's necessary to ensure that 'positive thoughts abound'.