mccourt family

Born in depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants, Frank McCourt experienced a childhood fraught with poverty and occasional cruelty. McCourt recounts his miserable existence with remarkable exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.

Born to Irish parents, McCourt endured a childhood of extreme poverty. He rose from humble beginnings to become a Pulitzer Prize winner. In "Angela's ashes", he recounts the heartbreaking stories and the soul-saving humor of his childhood.

The author chronicles his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s, describing his father's alcoholism and talent for storytelling; the challenges and tragedies his mother faced, including the loss of three children; and his early experiences in the Catholic church, and balances painful memories with humor.

The author chronicles his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s, describing his father's alcoholism and talent for storytelling; the challenges and tragedies his mother faced, including the loss of three children; and his early experiences in the Catholic church, and balances painful memories with humor.