This is a heartfelt personal memoir. Along with capturing lifelong memories including the difficult decision that his parents had to make in leaving their own families behind to search for opportunities away from war torn Belfast, Greg leaves readers surfing the waves of an emotional tsunami about the human journey of life, and how being ripped away from the country he loved, regardless of its violent history, continues to define his ever evolving worldview.
Greg writes from a true Irish lens – one that is both narrative and quite descriptive. If is as if he were sitting across from each reader and sharing the story about his life.
His story is oft described as a direct reflection of countless other immigrants who have undergone the same uprooting due to political and religious persecution, only to be met with unexpected, harrowing challenges in trying to resettle in lands which were seemingly full of promise and freedom prior to leaving their home, their country, and its traumas behind.
According to Greg, ‘Life is a journey. Often times and without choice, our actions and interactions within the environments in which we grow, live, work, and play, define our worldviews and shape who we are. Anyone who has faced traumatic events may look for an outlet to share their experiences in the hopes they are not alone in their struggles. In hindsight, however, the realization is that we are all human, and each and every one of us has a unique story to tell.’
This is his story as told through personal reflections and poems.
Tabela de Conteúdo
Acknowledgements i
Notes to the Reader vi
Scattered Youth 1
Knockagh Monument 34
Stranger To My Land 41
Hallows’ Eve 47
The Socialization of Hate 54
The Confessional 57
An Ode to My Aunt Sadie 65
Whispers in the Breeze 70
The Enchantment of Achill 75
In The Name of Religion 81
Shenanigans of the Scattered Youth 85
Belfast Telegraph 85
Kamikaze Catwalks 87
Man in the Coveralls 89
Escape from Carrick Castle 92
Car on the Beak 95
Belfast Craic 98
The Pulse of Derrylin 108
Mum’s Lament 127
From a Child to the Man 138
Imagine That 146
C’est La Vie 151
Taking a Stand 155
Alcohol Saviour 159
A New Beginning 163
And We Call Ourselves Human? 169
Cry of the Wild 172
Whose “Home and Native Land?” 177
Hearts Entwined 181
Little Angel 185
Lament for a Child 191
Empty Promises 196
Bruised and Battered 200
Hate Crimes Against Humanity 207
Disposable Humans 209
Surreal, Nine One One 214
Going Forward in Reverse 218
A Time to Reflect 222
Brandy 229
With Love from an Irish Mother 241
One Final Thought 258
Godspeed, Madiba 274
Special Note to the Reader 278
About the Author 279
Connect with the Author 281
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