Synopsis
Just a Boy from Home tells of Bill Bourke's life growing up in County Mayo, Ireland, and his immigration to Chicago, where he married, raised a family and fully embraced his opportunity to realize the American Dream. The captivating stories of his life are interspersed with lyrics to 42 songs, Irish wit, recipes and other memories of a time past, creating the kind of personal, detailed history that so often fades away with time.
Author
When Catherine Bourke Chambers set out to confirm the various details of her father's stories from song lyrics to people and places to historical events such as the striping of the land in Ireland she discovered an Ireland that everyone should meet.
"It took me quite a long time to confirm words to songs and stories from this area," she writes. "So many of his friends and family have died, but what I have I believe is correct. Even if a person does not want to buy this book for the story, the songs, myths and idiomatic expressions should be something that anyone with an Irish background would want to have in their library."
Bill Bourke passed away in 2007. Catherine Bourke Chambers is the second of his five children. She has been married for 31 years and has three sons. Just a Boy from Home is her first book.
