Sadie

Sadie
J.L.Parker
PublishAmerica
ISBN: 1-4137-4450-8
Non-Fiction, Biography, History
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

Between 1848 and 1855, the Irish Potato Fame, or the Great Famine as it is sometimes called, drove over one hundred thousand Irishmen to immigrate to America. These people came to America with hopes of freedom from religious strife, with dreams of success, and with great expectations for their children’s future. Instead, these people found prejudice, war, and continued poverty.
Sadie is the true story of four Irishmen that made the journey to America and their descendents. Cunningham Parker came to New York with hopes of becoming an artist. His future wife, Mary Smith came to America at age twelve to make her new home in New Orleans. Daniel and Bridget Bergen made their way through Battery Gate as newlyweds. These four individuals would be drawn together as a family, as the author’s family, many years later.
Sadie is a multidimensional story. This book recounts the births, deaths, triumphs, and tragedies of the author’s ancestors from their arrival in America during the Civil War through WWI and the Spanish Influenza. However, as I read, I realized that the experiences of these individuals mirrored the experiences of the majority of Irishmen who immigrated to America during the Great Famine. In this way, this book gives a face to this period in history and a voice to those who have long been forgotten.