Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930, McCourt is the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt. He is joined by brother Malachy in 1931, twins Oliver and Eugene in 1932, and a sister, Margaret, in 1933. After the death of his sister Margaret when she was only a few weeks old, his parents move the family back to their native Ireland, where his younger twin brothers both die within a year of the family's arrival and where Frank's youngest brothers, Michael (b. 1936) and Alphie (b. 1940) are born.
Life in Ireland, and specifically life in Limerick City, in the 1930s and 1940s is described in all its grittiness. The family lives in a dilapidated lane of houses that regularly floods, and share one outdoor toilet with all their neighbours. Although his father teaches the children Irish stories and songs, he is an alcoholic and seldom finds work, and so they live on the dole (unemployment) or charity while the father spends days drinking in bars. For years the family subsists mostly on bread and tea. (Divorce was illegal in Ireland until 1997).
Frank's father finally gains employment during World War II at a defense plant in Coventry, England. In this situation, he finds it easy to drink away most of his wages, and only once does he send any money back to the struggling family in Ireland. Their mother is destitute, as there are not many jobs for women at the time. Angela's sister and her widowed mother begrudge any help they have to give her, because they disapprove of her husband, mostly because he hails from Northern Ireland and therefore he has a strange accent and what Angela's family calls 'the odd manner.' The McCourt family are continually afraid of going to hell if they do not pray or confess often enough as specified by the church.
In the damp, cold climate of Ireland, the children have only one set of ragged clothing each, patched shoes and no coats or boots. Frank develops typhoid and chronic conjunctivitis, and is hospitalized. Sometimes Frank and his brothers have to scavenge for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel, or steal bread to survive. The family is finally evicted after Frank yanks out wall beams to burn for winter heat, causing the roof to collapse. The family is forced to move in with a distant relative who treats them poorly. Teenage Frank starts work for the Post Office as a telegram delivery boy, and also works for the local money lender writing threatening letters to the people who owed her money, as a means to save money and is finally able to realize his dream of returning to America. The story ends as he sails into Poughkeepsie, New York, to begin a new life at the age of nineteen.
2. How do you think he overcame his suffering?
3. Frank had a hard life growing up. What were some of the obstcles or challenges he had to overcome?
4. What did Frank enjoy doing as a child?
5. Why did Frank reinvent his past when he came to America?
