Miles Apart: As I Remember My Irish Childhood... from There to Here

In Miles Apart: As I Remember My Irish Childhood ... from There to Here-A Memoir, Agnes B. Cagney tells the story of her life, a life that began toward the end of the 1930s, in a simple farmhouse in rural Ireland, a house without electricity, central heating, or running water. Images of Agnes' childhood-the way the schoolhouses were run, the village blacksmith, the sacraments that marked the passage of time in an Irish Catholic childhood, and the people and events that composed her young life-are vividly evoked. Mrs. Cagney describes being on her own as a teenager in Dublin, working, exploring the city with her sister, and enjoying the thrill of earning real money for the first time. Yet, more poignant is her description of leaving Ireland for the United States, how difficult it was to leave her family, but also the adventure of discovering a new culture and a new life overseas.