{"product_id":"150119710x-we_were_rich_and_we_didnt_know_it","title":"We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It","description":"\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"You don't have to be Irish to cherish this literary gift--just being human and curious and from a family will suffice.\" --Malachy McCourt, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eA Monk Swimming\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIn the tradition of Frank McCourt's \u003ci\u003eAngela's Ashes\u003c\/i\u003e and Alice Taylor's \u003ci\u003eTo School Through the Fields,\u003c\/i\u003e Tom Phelan's \u003ci\u003eWe Were Rich and We Didn't Know It\u003c\/i\u003e is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and back-breaking.\u003cbr\u003e It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eWe Were Rich and We Didn't Know It\u003c\/i\u003e recounts Tom's upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistory\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEurope\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eGreat Britain\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n","brand":"Gallery Books","offers":[{"title":"Used - Very Good","offer_id":46697244885182,"sku":"150119710X-3","price":14.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0640\/9689\/5166\/files\/71k3iQn6OhL.jpg?v=1777483389","url":"https:\/\/shop.sustainablebooks.com\/products\/150119710x-we_were_rich_and_we_didnt_know_it","provider":"Sustainable Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}