Overview

"If Trees Could Talk is a hybrid historical fiction/memoir that uncovers family secrets through the clues discovered by internationally-acclaimed sculptor Margot McMahon. Contains original artwork. ""This is all they left to follow the breadcrumbs of their life story...As I discover my Northern Irish Catholic roots, I realize my adventurous life has been a quest to understand my past.""-the Author ""Irene winked in the photographs that ran in the Chicago Tribune, News Sun and Daily Herald. Mac attempted to calm the adrenaline triggered from the camera flashes. Only his eyes penetrated into the terror he squelched inside. The scapula hung under Mac's shirt; Irene's was in her clutch. All were celebrating the end of the war, rations, separation and coming together. Whoops and hoots, cascading rice as they ducked arm-in-arm through the gathered group of family friends on the Basilica steps. Irene's parents had been married here in quieter, but just as uncertain times. Mac was gazing into Irene's gray hazy-blue eyes. She had a solemn, warm, girl-like calm face. There was something ethereal about her, as if she always gracefully carried a bouquet of fresh flowers. Irene looked into his sky-blue wide and excited eyes. She handed him her suitcase. He had the keys to Bess's Buick. They were giddy with their plans for a road trip. She watched his agile, delicate hands, artist's hands, take the steering wheel. They drove to the Knickerbocker with tin cans rattling behind them. Only recently, tin had been rationed. Soap was flagrantly wasted to write Just Married on the back window. They passed the sound of waves on the outer drive. Combining food stamps, Mac's GI bill salary and a reduced- price reception hall, they celebrated a glorious wedding. Capturing every posed moment of cake cutting and feeding each other fork loads of Agatha's whipped cream frosted angel food cake, Bess' brown-sugar dipped figs, dark-chocolate macaroons and William's pineapples from California."" --from If Trees Could Talk"

Full Product Details

9781736767740

Table of Contents

Reviews

Part memoir and part novel, Margot McMahon's If Trees Could Talk plumbs the mysteries of her family's story in order to make sense of the lives of her remarkable parents, Irene and Mac. What do we really know about those who have raised us, and those who raised them? And what does all of this tell us about where we have come from and who we are? McMahon's gathering of research, oral history, memory, art, and imagined moments makes for a sprawling American story told with a keen eye and an open heart. -Patricia Ann McNair, Responsible Adults Margot McMahon's If Trees Could Talk is a fascinating family history and an immigrant's dream narrative come true. Starting from County Antrim in Ireland, this family spent hard years in the Adirondack Mountains of New York before moving to Chicago. Its struggle to survive, including her father's time as a Nazi prisoner of war, makes excellent reading. -Roger Mitchell, author of Clear Pond: The Reconstruction of a Life If Trees Could Talk captures the lively adventures of Franklin (Mac) and Irene McMahon, as well as the narrator's quest to uncover her family history. This book captures the journey that so many of us go on to understand our families so we can understand ourselves. -Nadine Kenney Johnstone, award winning author of Of This Much I'm Sure

Part memoir and part novel, Margot McMahon's If Trees Could Talk plumbs the mysteries of her family's story in order to make sense of the lives of her remarkable parents, Irene and Mac. What do we really know about those who have raised us, and those who raised them? And what does all of this tell us about where we have come from and who we are? McMahon's gathering of research, oral history, memory, art, and imagined moments makes for a sprawling American story told with a keen eye and an open heart. -Patricia Ann McNair, Responsible Adults Margot McMahon's If Trees Could Talk is a fascinating family history and an immigrant's dream narrative come true. Starting from County Antrim in Ireland, this family spent hard years in the Adirondack Mountains of New York before moving to Chicago. Its struggle to survive, including her father's time as a Nazi prisoner of war, makes excellent reading. -Roger Mitchell, author of Clear Pond: The Reconstruction of a Life If Trees Could Talk captures the lively adventures of Franklin (Mac) and Irene McMahon, as well as the narrator's quest to uncover her family history. This book captures the journey that so many of us go on to understand our families so we can understand ourselves. -Nadine Kenney Johnstone, award winning author of Of This Much I'm Sure

Author Information

Margot McMahon, daughter of artist-reporter Franklin McMahon, has received several writing awards and authored non-fiction books for adults and young adults including The Fifth Season, the recipient of the 2020 Mate E. Palmer First Place Book Award. An internationally-awarded sculptor, Margot lives in Chicago with her husband and visiting three grown children.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available