Harvey, delivered by his grandmother in a thatched Irish cottage and raised in a London home wracked by alcoholism and violence, recreates the strange and remote realities of life in a postwar rural Ireland barely emerged from the 19th century and bomb-shattered London with “armless and legless veterans everywhere you turned.”
From time as a child in an orphanage to writing speeches for presidents, James Harvey travelled a rocky road to live out the American dream. In this memoir of his childhood, Harvey recreates the daily struggles of life in post-war rural Ireland and bomb-shattered London. This engrossing memoir grounds the struggles of the Harveys in both Irish history and British snobbery as the family fought for a place in the world. It takes the reader on a journey from the serenity of life in a rural thatched cottage ... through alcohol-fueled domestic violence in the Kilburn area bordering London’s Paddington and St. John’s Wood neighborhoods ... to the anguish of emigration.
BlueInk Reviews hails the author’s “storytelling prowess” in this “page-turner.” Foreword Reviews describes a “mature professional voice” that is “poignant” and “fascinating.”
Excerpt
From time as a child in an orphanage to writing speeches for presidents, James Harvey travelled a rocky road to live out the American dream. In this memoir of his childhood, Harvey recreates the daily struggles of life in post-war rural Ireland and bomb-shattered London. This engrossing memoir grounds the struggles of the Harveys in both Irish history and British snobbery as the family fought for a place in the world. It takes the reader on a journey from the serenity of life in a rural thatched cottage ... through alcohol-fueled domestic violence in the Kilburn area bordering London’s Paddington and St. John’s Wood neighborhoods ... to the anguish of emigration.
Professional Reviews BlueInk Review
Harvey "possesses what many historians lack: storytelling prowess. That scene of escaping to an orphanage is a page-turner, and there are a dozen more just as gripping. Also fascinating is how James evokes postwar Ireland and England." – BlueInk Review
Clarion Review
“A timely memoir about international displacement . . . poignant memories . . . historical and cultural critiques written in a mature, professional voice . . . prose that is both intelligent and accessible.” – Foreword Clarion Reviews
Irish Post
"Delivered by lamplight in old rural Donegal. In the shadow of empire and economic hardship, one Irish childhood spans the transition from thatched cottages to postwar council flats—and all the ghosts in between. James Harvey's memoir Grappling With Ghosts captures the strangeness and struggle of a lost world." – The Irish Post
About the clients and escorts who once were part of Professional Escorts of Marin County, California. The timeframe was from 1974 until 1990.
You will enjoy the easy to read book that gives a glimpse into escorting. Enjoy the read.
