Title: Daughter of Laharna
Author: Patricia E. Beattie
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 978-1665580991
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 108
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert

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Providing an evocative snapshot of a life rich with history, and impressive experiences, author Patricia E. Beattie’s Daughter of Laharna escorts the minds into Ireland’s past. The book introduces and explores the history of Larne, Ireland, the climate of tourism, as well as the people and politics during the pre-and-post WWll era. However, more interestingly this book is not just another retrospective jaunt into the past, instead it is a memoir which brings to the fore, the author’s perspective on her very unique childhood growing up in the hotel and tourism industry, residing in the largest tourist hotel in Larne, Ireland the Laharna Hotel.

Patricia Beattie grew up in a unique world within the hotel tourism industry and this book draws a captivating vision of her life in Larne, a beautiful coastal town in Northern Ireland, which served as a major passenger and freight port, especially important during wartime. Residing and working in the Laharna, author Beattie lived with her father, mother, sister, and grandmother, calling the hotel home for 24 years. Throughout that time her family was very active in the hotel tourism industry, in particular, due to father George Beattie holding some very impressive jobs as a hotelier and more.

From the book’s outset author Beattie supplies rich details, not only delving into her family’s history and life at Laharna, but the local and national history as well. With a well-honed, lucid writing style, she recounts her many experiences including; her arrival at the Laharna, family history, her father’s start as a hotelier, the pre-war years, as well as the many important events hosted there. Also, at the end of the book, she includes an intriguing section which details the full history of the hotel, including produce suppliers, service and maintenance, hotel staff, as well as notable visitors.

Additionally, further adding to the work’s literary abundance, throughout the book she includes relevant supportive media with the incorporation of authentic maps, original photos as well as poetic works created by herself, her mother, and her father, all of which adds a wonderful dimension to the dynamic nature of this amazing, awe-inspiring memoir. As a matter of fact, author Beattie, starts off with a detailed map of Larne, Ireland denoting visitor attractions as well as the location of the hotel, and a deeply touching poem by mother Peg entitled, Daughter of Laharna.

Altogether Patricia E. Beattie’s, Daughter of Laharna offers an engaging story both insightful and edifying, which I found engrossing as well as entertaining. She presents her life’s story with a multifaceted narrative that spans a range of events and emotions which she openly shares and does not shy away from personal drama and disasters. The book makes for a great read which creates an entertaining and detailed immersion into history and an intriguing life.