Book Review - The Drinking Life

I just finished reading Pete Hamil's "The Drinking Life", a memoir of his life growing up as an Irish- American kid in Brooklyn.
I remember reading Pete Hamil's columns in the New York newspapers when i was in my 20's. I used to enjoy his writing at the time and appreciated how he worked his way up from his working class roots to be a journalist. I remember that Pete Hamil and another journalist Jimmy Breslin stood out for their working class style of writing and and their Irish roots.
Reading the book triggered a lot of my own personal memories growing up in the South Bronx. Pete's book brings to life his Irish-American experiences in Brooklyn and his struggle of being torn between two worlds, the working class world of Brooklyn and the middle class world of Manhattan. He also struggled with two identities, one the neighborhood guy vs the educated artist guy.
Of course his biggest struggle is summed up in the title "The Drinking Life". Well for most of his life he just gave in to alcohol and was "Living in the Bottle" as Gil Scott Heron used to say. Yet he reached a turning point and made a decision at that moment to change his life and he did. How he changed from a drinker to a non- drinker is different and I know a few people in my life who did the same.
The book is a very good read and also give the reader a historical context to his life. His story is a fascinating story in how he built a life and how he life spiraled from dropping out of high school to working in the Navy Yards, going to art school, joining the Navy and finally becoming a journalist and a writer.
One story that stands out for me is when he took his father back to Belfast Ireland in 1963 for the first time since his father left in 1932. The description of hearing the news that John F Kennedy was shot on the TV in Belfast was a powerful moment. It also crystalized his life long struggle and relationship with his father.
A lot of this book has a very personal connection to my life. Growing up the son of Irish immigrants in the Bronx, I went through a lot of similar struggles and a few different ones. I was from the next generation after Pete Hamil which brought some unique challenges for my life. I had to construct a successful life with no role models and no idea of how you achieve it.
I will be sharing a lot of these stories as I embark on my writing project this year.
If you are interested in memoirs I suggest you read Pete Hamil's book....

Irish American Story Project

Article I wrote for Irish-American Story Project

http://irishamericanstoryproject.com/?p=95

Submit articles to them about your experiences as an Irish-American.......

St Patrick's Day 2008- Foxford, Co Mayo, Ireland

The O'Donnell Family Reunion

Erin Go Bragh - We are Family

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!







In a few days we will be on a Aer Lingus jet headed to Ireland for the 1st time in my life. We are going to have a reunion with my mother's family in County Mayo. We are connecting with our family for the first time. It's been years since I've focused my attention on Ireland or even the Irish-American experience in America. Yet about nine months ago I started reading books and watching movies on both. Once my relatives connected with us via the Internet and a reunion was planned I stepped up my immersion in things Irish and Ireland. Some books and DVDs I recommend you check out are:

Books:
The Pope's Children
All Souls Day
Easter Rising
Angela's Ashes


DVD's:
Black Irish
Once
In America
The Quiet Man
Angela's Ashes

You can find them and more on my links to the right of this.

Watching Angela's Ashes for the first time I was moved by the incredible poverty and suffering of the Irish people at that time in history and thought about my mother and father making the journey to America at age 18-19 to create a better life for themselves. In many ways it's that Ireland that is still stuck in people's mind so when I started reading The Pope's Children which is the #1 Best seller in Ireland I was blown away by the following facts and realities of the New Ireland.

"Today Ireland is the second richest country in the world". "Ireland is becoming the most middle-class suburban nation in Europe". "The Irish score second in the world as describing themselves as happy and 77% say they are proud of Ireland'. Ireland has been a economic miracle and is a global nation. The story of the new Ireland is worth knowing even if you aren't of Irish descent. I will review the fascinating book 'The Pope's Children" in a future post.

Now back to my experiences as a child of Irish immigrants in the Bronx. I remember as a kid being taken every year to the Saint Patrick's Day parade on New York's 5th Ave. The sound of the bagpipes just touched me all the way down to the bone.
It was a great day especially for my mother who always had a dream of returning home to Ireland. She never made the trip but I'm making it for her. I will post my experiences in Ireland and I will celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Foxford with my family. Truly amazing.........