My Nana's Voice

Protagonist and first-person narrator Alicia McMahon begins her memoir later in her life with a description of her vision to produce a tribute book for her ailing Nana Murphy. Her Nana still lived in the village she grew up in, Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland. This leads to a very poignant conversation between Alicia and her Nana a few months later. Alicia then explains how life was growing up in a little parish in Ireland and shares her stories from hardships to shenanigans. When Alicia is eighteen years old, she feels compelled to leave her motherland to find work and brings us on her journey to the United States. Once in the U.S., she shares the terrifying situations she experiences as a young mother of two and how her Crone Voice has guided her throughout tough circumstances in her life. Alicia's story is unusual in that, at one point in time, she went from being homeless in a battered women's shelter with her two young daughters to working directly on Bill Gates personal CEO Summit, all within a short period of time. Throughout her journey, she helps readers comprehend how she developed her own understanding of intuition (she calls it her Crone Voice) and how that has aided her throughout her life. At the end of each chapter, Alicia shares a pertinent quote that reflects her strength and thoughts about that time in her life. After raising her two daughters (Seanalee and Brennalynn) into adulthood, Alicia now finds herself in an emotional quandary.