Finding Tipperary Mary
Phyllis Whitsell, 2015
Mirror Books
244 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781910335338
Summary
Finding Tipperary Mary, is the astonishing first person account of Phyllis Whitsell’s search for the mother who left her in a Catholic orphanage in Birmingham.
While struggling to fit in with her adoptive family, growing up, becoming a nurse and starting a family of her own, Phyllis longed to discover the missing pieces of her early life.
Her search to learn more about her mother—and the reasons for abandoning her, led to a remarkable journey where the two women’s lives crossed each other unknowingly. When they both eventually sat down in the same room together, the circumstances were extraordinary, moving and ultimately life-changing.
The book touches on topical issues such as adoption, alcoholism, abuse, dementia and forgiveness. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—May, 18 1956
• Where—Coventry, England, UK
• Education—R.N., City Hospital, Birmingham
• Currently—lives in Birmingham, England
Phyllis Whitsell British author. She is also a registered nurse who has worked in most hospital departments from A&E to midwifery as well as community nursing. Phyllis now cares for dementia patients in her home town of Birmingham.
She has three grown up children and enjoys travelling, particularly to Greece where she does most of her writing. Finding Tipperary Mary is her first book, painting a personal view of growing up in an orphanage in the 1950s, then as an adopted child and student nurse in Birmingham in the '60s and '70s. (From the author.)
Book Reviews
What an extraordinary story....very moving indeed!
Vanessa Feltz - BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine Show
Discussion Questions
1. Did the challenges Phyllis and / or Bridget faced strike a chord with your own childhood?
2. How did the actions of Bridget make you feel?
3. What observations about English society are made in the book?
4. What is different from your own culture? What do you find most surprising, intriguing or difficult to understand?
5. What is the central idea discussed in the book? What issues or ideas does the author explore? Are they personal, sociological, global, political, economic, spiritual, medical, or scientific
6. Talk about specific memorable passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
7. What have you learned after reading this book? Has it broadened your perspective about a difficult issue—personal or societal? Has it introduced you to a culture in another country?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)