Out of Ireland
A Novel
by Marian O'Shea Wernicke
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Pub Date Apr 25 2023 | Archive Date Feb 07 2023
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Description
An exciting coming-of-age story of a brother and sister in an Ireland still under the harsh rule of the British, Out of Ireland brings alive the story of our ancestors who braved the dangers of immigration in order to find a better life for themselves and their families.
A Note From the Publisher
Twentieth Century Man. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an Irish Catholic family, she entered the convent of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood at age sixteen and spent eleven years as a nun before leaving the convent. Later, she met and married Michael Wernicke, an electrical engineer from Pensacola, Florida. Wernicke earned a master’s degree in English from the University of West Florida and went on to become a professor of English at Pensacola State College for twenty-five years. Upon her retirement from college teaching, Wernicke began her new life as full-time writer in 2010. She and her husband now live in Austin, Texas.
Advance Praise
A Hasty Book List Most-Anticipated Historical Fiction Title for 2023
“As an immigrant to America in the 1800s, Eileen Sullivan faces what so many immigrant women have faced before and since: startling new freedoms alongside the cruelties of events beyond their control. Out Of Ireland is a love letter to the strength of women who came before us, full of beauty, pain, and—most of all—perseverance.”—Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick
“Impossible dreams are realized in ways the dreamers didn’t imagine in this fine, heart-wrenching novel. Brother and sister Michael and Eileen emigrate from Ireland to escape poverty and British oppression only to discover unexpected challenges in the New World. A believable story based on history, with themes of hope, courage, devotion, and love, it will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.”—Linda Stewart Henley, award-winning author of Estelle and Waterbury Winter
“Many Irish-Americans will see the stories of their own families in these pages. Wernicke skillfully brings life to history as her characters make the difficult passage from troubled Ireland to St. Louis’ infamous Kerry Patch.”—Patrick Murphy, author of The Irish in St. Louis: From Shanty to Lace Curtain
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781647423995 |
| PRICE | $17.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Featured Reviews
Cheri S, Reviewer
In honor of my maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Hickey Sullivan Jewett, And all her descendants in the Word, Bender, and O’Shea families.’
This story begins in 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, and although it doesn’t stay there long, it will return there as the story continues.
This is a story of family, the lifelong heartbreak of losing someone near and dear, of decisions and repercussions, of love for family, country and so much more.
Chronologically, this family’s story begins in 1867, in Bantry Bay, Ireland when 16-year-old Mary Eileen Sullivan is, literally, up in a tree. From there she can see her mother with her hands on her hips calling her to get down from that tree ’this instant’, while Mary pretends to hear nothing, her focus on the clouds that portend a coming storm, along with the darkening sky. That isn’t the only storm that is headed their way, however.
As her mother begins to speak to her about how hard things have become on the farm, and as the price of what they can sell from the farm has fallen, while the price of what they need has risen, she has come to a decision. Her mother, along with Michael, one of Mary’s brothers, have decided it is time for her to marry, and have chosen someone for her, a 28 year-old, balding widower.
It isn’t as though Mary is not contributing to the family income, she has been working at Blackthorn House, where there are walls covered in books. For her, it is like heaven, as they allow her to borrow books as one of the employees. And now this will be taken from her, as well.
She turns to her brother Michael, as well as the priest, and while they both do what they can to help, it is to no avail. And all too soon, she is married. And not all that long after, a child is born.
Her brother, Michael, meanwhile is involved with the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and soon needs to leave Ireland for his own safety. Eventually, after Mary’s son is born, she and her husband decide that with the way things are in Ireland, perhaps America has better prospects for them, and so they make arrangements, and head there. By the time they arrive, they are already different people, broken.
This was a heartbreaking read, at times, so many struggles as they make their way in America. I loved how personal this story felt at times, but also how it brings the era and place to life for the reader.
A lovely read for me, and a lovely tribute to her great-grandmother.
Pub Date: 25 Apr 2023
Many thanks for the ARC provided by She Writes Press / Caitlin Hamilton Press
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