Title: The Shanty Irishman and the Lady
Author: Vennie Anderson
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-8922-5
Genre: Biography
Pages: 101
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares
Pacific Book Review
It is rare that a biography is uninteresting, even when you don’t know the people involved, because it gives an intimate look into the lives of others. The Shanty Irishman and the Lady is one of those intimate looks into the lives of people who weren’t significant public figures but nonetheless led interesting lives.
The Shanty Irishman and the Lady is author Vennie Anderson’s love letter to her grandparents. It is a heartfelt and personal look into her life and, in many instances, how her experiences being close to them shaped her life. While the book focuses on her grandparents, Anderson offers plenty of autobiographical insight into her own life though it often circles back to her grandparents’ influence in her life.
Sometimes people have a story so important to them that they need to get it out into the world – that is what this story feels like. Vennie Anderson doesn’t seem like someone
who set out to be a writer, but this story was burning so deep in her soul that she had to get it on paper, and we are all the better for it. She paints a beautiful picture of the grandparents she loved and admired, and the photos at the end of the book are a fantastic look into a time past and help put faces to names in the book.
Stories like this are precisely what people need to take a break from the crazy world we live in. They help appreciate life and the relationships that we all hold dear but sometimes take for granted. Vennie Anderson’s book reminds us about the importance of those relationships throughout our lives and the gifts and lessons that older generations impart to us even after they are gone.
