August Gale : A Father and Daughter's Journey into the Storm

by Barbara Walsh

• ISBN13: 9780762761463
• ISBN10: 0762761466
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2011-10-18
• Publisher: Globe Pequot

Summary

In August Gale, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh--who has interviewed killers, bad cops, and crooked politicians in the course of her career--faces the most challenging story of her lifetime: asking her father about his childhood pain. In the process, she takes us on two heartrending odysseys: one into a deadly Newfoundland hurricane and the lives of schooner fishermen who relied on God and the wind to carry them home; the other, into a squall stirred by a man with many secrets, a grandfather who remained a mystery until long after his death. Sixty-eight years after the hurricane that claimed several of her ancestors, Walsh searches for memories of the August gale and the grandfather who abandoned her dad as a young boy. Together, she and her father journey to Newfoundland to learn about the 1935 storm, and along the way her dad begins to talk about the man he cannot forgive. Over the next four years, they take many more trips together, recreating a violent hurricane and a small boy's tender past. Secretly, the daughter holds onto a hidden desire: to heal her father and redeem the grandfather she has never met.

Author Biography

Barbara Walsh is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and magazine columnist who has chased many stories during her career; her work has changed laws, lives, and affected a presidential election. Currently, she teaches journalism and is an international speaker for the U. S. State Department. She lives in Maine.

Table of Contents

Preface
Walsh Family Tree	p. x
A Sudden Wind-Brooklyn, August 1935	p. 1
Lured by the Gale-Maine, February 2002	p. 6
The King of Marystown-Newfoundland, 1935	p. 11
The Family Storm Unravels-New Hampshire, 2002	p. 23
"'Tis Nothing but Worry and Waiting"-Marystown, August 1935	p. 30
Victory Ships and a San Francisco Tempest-My parents' kitchen, April 2003	p. 40
Gathering a Crew-Marystown, August 1935	p. 52
The Sisters Gather-Newburypor, Mass., May 2003	p. 67
Father McGettigan's Torment-Marystown, late August 1935	p. 76
Pictures of the Past-Maine, June 2003	p. 84
A Premonition and a Dark Cloud-Marystown, August 1935	p. 89
Heading into the Storm-Newfoundland, June 2003	p. 98
Mustering Courage on Board Annie Anita and Mary Bernice-August 21, 1935	p. 104
"Welcome Home"-Marystown, June 2003	p. 110
The Tempest Roars North-North Atlantic, 1935	p. 117
Chasing Ancestors-Marystown, June 2003	p. 124
"There's a Divil Coming!"-Newfoundland Fishing Grounds, August 1935	p. 129
Mountainous Waves and Mighty MenùMarystown, 2003	p. 139
Prayers and Apparitions-Marystown, August 1935	p. 145
"My Poor Daddy Was Lost"-Marystown, 2003	p. 151
Shipwrecked Schooners and Bodies Swallowed by the Sea-Newfoundland, 1935	p. 158
"The Whole Town Just Stumbled into Shock"-Marystown, 2003	p. 165
McGettigan's Grim Task-Marystown, August 1935	p. 170
A Final Voyage-Marystown, 2003	p. 177
"'Tis the Queerest Wake"-Marystown, 1935	p. 182
Ambrose Continues to Haunt-Marystown, 2003	p. 193
Digging Up the Grave-Marystown, 1935	p. 197
Graveyards and Redemption-Marystown, June 2003	p. 206
The Storm Still Lingers-Marystown, 1935	p. 211
August Thunder and Ambrose's Daughters-New Hampshire, August 2003	p. 218
"Left in a Dreamland"ùNewfoundland, 1935-2005	p. 226
One Last JourneyùBrooklyn and Staten Island, October 2006	p. 236
Acknowledgments	p. 248
Glossary of Newfoundland and Nautical Terms	p. 252
August Gale Storm Track	p. 256
Where Paddy and James Sailed	p. 257
Houses of Fishermen Who Died in the Storm	p. 258
The Walsh Tragedy Song	p. 259
About the Author	p. 261
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