A review by emmaphf
The Story We Carry in Our Bones: Irish History for Americans - Hardback by Juilene Osborne-McKnight

informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

Loved learning about the history of Ireland and am overall so grateful for this accessible history. The section about Irish assimilating into America rubbed me the wrong way (as an Irish-American myself), as it did not grapple with the nuance of oppressed people also becoming oppressors, as Irish-Americans become some of the worst offenders of white supremacy and racism. It treated Irish-Americans in an overly simplistic, can-do-no-wrong way, which felt disingenuous and flattened the otherwise very compelling history. This piece is important for Irish-Americans to understand — as a key, however flawed, survival tactic that was chosen, and still plagues society today.