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Castle Bridge in Buncrana, County Donegal is impressive. It has stood crossing the Crana River near its mouth for 300 years this year. Brigid Rose Higgins, local Inishowen artist, has captured the solid strength and serene beauty of the bridge in her recent acrylic painting. It is really beautiful. The Buncrana Castle Bridge has an
Today in the car we were singing along to an ’80’s station on the radio. Then Kool & the Gang’s hit song “Cherish,” came on. Nick loves this song. It was very moving to hear him singing along with the chorus, “Cherish the love we have We should cherish the life we live Cherish the
There are days when my emotions bubble closer to the surface than other days. Stories that I hear are more poignant. Even if they are reports told on the TV by dispassionate newscasters. These stories prick my heart. This seems especially true when I am already feeling some grief. Just over a month ago, Arden’s
We have all experienced it. We are trying our best to handle a situation and then someone, who hasn’t any experience with what we are going through, decides what is best and tells us what we should do. I have had various responses over the years to the same scenario, but last week my response
Caregiving for a loved one with a rare and debilitating disease can stretch our capacities to the maximum. Some days our responsibilities feel overwhelming. Those days, when we are observing our life, all we can see is the storm clouds and the rain pouring down. We have so many things to do and are not
It is fun to watch Nick working on Art projects. Some of them are more difficult than he can accomplish without assistance. With other projects he is completely independent, but regardless of the amount of help he needs, when the project is finished, he feels empowered. “I did it. I do Arts and Crafts.” You
One of the main things that we recognize about Nick, is that he finds joy in many things. Situations that many people term the simple pleasures of life. Everyday he experiences something in his life that he feels is wonderful and it lights up his face. You can see an example of this in
https://youtu.be/Q5PPJUDcpDg is the YouTube address for the video of my presentation on 7 July 2017 during the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community and Involvement (MIRCI) conference at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at Galway University, Ireland. The presentation is titled “The Unexpected Mothering Story” and is about 18 minutes long. A few
Nick loves music and he loves to dance. On Friday we were at a surprise ceili celebrating my 60th birthday. My 87 year old relation, Moira “Saddler” Doherty played the piano while we all sang and danced. Just watching Nick brought joy to the rest of us. His feet and hands keeping time. The smile
Announcing that I have finished a book with the working title of “The Fairy Fort.” I am currently pitching it to publishers. Keep checking back to watch the progress of my newest novel.
Here is a quick glimpse of the story.
Sarah Doherty is an 18-year-old living in rural Ireland at the tail end of the Great War. Plagued by severe epilepsy, she is protected by her parents and lives a sheltered, secluded, lonely life. The Fae, local Irish fairies, interfere with her life. She falls forward a century in time through the local fairy fort of standing stones. She had a seizure in 1918 and woke up in 2020. The 21st century world includes life-saving prescriptions, physical comforts and the independence and freedom she seeks. The locals are welcoming and Andy Mclaughlin, a handsome young historian, is intriguing. She doesn’t want to return home.
Then a letter arrives from Boston divulging the story of Sarah and Andy’s lives that are deeply entwined in the previous century. They are not yet in love but as they seek to verify the letter through online resources, they feel a growing obligation to their unborn family and to each other. What would happen to their posterity living in Boston if they don’t return to 1918? Even if they do make it back, her parents can never know what happened to her or that would change everything.
This Young Adult time-travel romance explores the question: Do we have the freedom to make choices or is free will an elaborate illusion?
This is my third book. I love reading time travel romances. I am an advocate for epilepsy awareness because my 43-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. As a genealogist specializing in Irish research, I live part of the year in the village where the story is based. I wrote the book to help young adults understand that difficult situations can change your life. Sometimes miraculously.
