Ellen Flood: Sad Songs and Happy Dances

Ellen Flood begins her journey in Westmeath, Ireland in 1902. Ellen and her sister, Mary Anne, leave for America, sadly leaving family behind. They tell themselves it is to find jobs, husbands and raise families. Both find work as maids in the streetcar suburb of Dorchester.

Ellen sends letters home sharing tales of her new life. She embarks on new experiences, going with a group of lively friends into downtown Boston as well as attending the parish dances on Thursday nights to meet young men. When will she marry? Will she move to the country?

Ellen and her husband raise their children with a mix of love and humor. She enjoys life on the farm but never loses her taste for adventure. She keeps Irish ways while taking pride in more modern, American ones. Always, she is a storyteller. Ellen navigates the joys and sorrows of life with wit and wisdom.

This novel is both the story of a woman's journey and that of an Irish immigrant from long ago. We taste the time she lived in and see her place in it. Ellen Flood tells the story.