Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History

by Andrew McCarthy

Overview

Addressing the explosive growth in ancestral travel, this compelling narrative combines intriguing tales of discovery with tips on how to begin your own explorations. Actor and award-winning travel writer Andrew McCarthy’s featured story recounts his recent quest to uncover his family’s Irish history, while twenty-five other prominent writers tell their own heartfelt stories of connection. Spanning the globe, these stories offer personal takes on journeying home, whether the authors are actively seeking long-lost relatives, meeting up with seldom-seen family members, or perhaps just visiting the old country to get a feel for their roots. Sidebars and a hefty resource section provide tips and recommendations on how to go about your own research, and a foreword by the Genographic Project’s Spencer Wells sets the scene. Stunning images, along with family heirlooms, old photos, recipes, and more, round out this unique take on the genealogical research craze.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426215025
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	02/03/2015
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	716,831
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Featured author ANDREW MCCARTHY is an actor and television director (known for his roles in St. Elmo’s Fire, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie’s, Pretty in Pink, and Less Than Zero) who also has an illustrious writing career. He is an editor-at-large at National Geographic Traveler, and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Travel+Leisure, Afar, Men’s Journal, Bon Appétit, National Geographic Adventure, and others. The Society of American Travel Writers named him 2010 “Travel Journalist of the Year,” and he was cited three times for notable work in the “Best American Travel Writing” series. His 2012 memoir, The Longest Way Home, became a New York Times bestseller.

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Ireland: A Restless Pull Andrew McCarthy 8

Angola and Virginia Traveling to the Truth Joe Mozingo 34

Argentina: An Accident of History Alex Bellos 42

Cambodia The Reluctant Traveler Nawuth Keat Martha E. Kendall 50

British Columbia, Canada: Sun and Shadows Joyce Maynard 60

Ontario, Canada Secrets and Spirits Tiffany Thornton 70

Croatia: A Year of Living Differently Jennifer Wilson 90

Cuba Indefinite Voluntary Departure Juan José Valdes 80

Czech Republic The Mandolin's Story Joseph Hurka 100

England Another Uncertain Voyage Jim Eagles 110

Germany: The Never Ending Story Joe Yogerst 118

India an Indian Summer Pico Iyer 128

Japan Of Deserts and Rice Paddies Edward Iwata 138

Laos and Vietnam The Birthday Present Thomas Fuller 148

Mexico My Insurgent Granny Peter McBride 156

Norway Following the Son Dave Hage 164

Peru My Years of Magical Thinking Marie Arana 172

The Philippines and California MacArthur, My Mother, and Me Barbara A. Noe 182

Krakow, Poland Where Old and New Worlds Collide Nina Strochlic 190

Russia A Warm Cold War Reunion Hilary Mandleberg 138

Scotland Finding William Andrew Evans 208

Sicily Italy A Hunger for Family Renée Restivo 218

Taiwan Republic of China The Eighth Sister Mei-Ling Hopgood 226

Tanzania My Family, My Tribe Donovan Webster 234

Ulster, Ireland, and Northern Ireland Three Generations, One Distant Family History Liz Beatty 244

Illinois, United States A Heartland History Diane Johnson 252

Genealogy 101 262

Country-Specific Information 267

Illustrations Credits 280

Index 281

Editorial Reviews

"It’s National Geographic, thus I need hardly to mention that the photos make you want to hit Trip Advisor, but the text, too, is mesmerizing." —Library Journal

"Journeys Home is part inspirational, part informational and written completely from the heart. If you long to know more about your family's past, but don't know why or how you should start your search, Journeys Home will motivate and encourage you to begin." —About.com

"This is a superbly interesting book that is liberally sprinkled with stunning images that are the hallmark of all National Geographic publications." —Apogeephoto.com

"Family secrets, mysteries, and lore are the impetus for the emotion-filled sojourns described in this beautifully illustrated essay collection and genealogy guide."
—Library Journal

"These 26 essays range from the prosaic (Illinois) to the mysterious (Tanzania), all with lovely color photos." —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"We’ve come to expect NatGeo travel guides to be arrestingly—no, beautifully—illustrated...but the [book's] beauty is matched by copious information brimming with heart and soul." —Booklist 

From the Publisher

02/15/2015
Family secrets, mysteries, and lore are the impetus for the emotion-filled sojourns described in this beautifully illustrated essay collection and genealogy guide. The 26 essays, covering places as diverse as Scotland, Cambodia, Mexico, Italy, Japan, and India, open with one by travel writer and actor McCarthy, who describes his at-first-reluctant exploration of his Irish roots. Many of the other entries also recount traveling to a far-off country that was the home of the writer's ancestors, but others tell stories of going back home after a long period away—in the case of a man who escaped Cambodia as a refugee—or visiting a family homestead in a different locale in one's own country, in the case of an American who finds her Midwestern roots. Whatever the story, each writer describes a moment when confusion, sadness, or detachment fell away and they knew they belonged. For readers who sense similar longings, each entry comes with sidebars on exploring the culture of the place by cooking its food, listening to its music, or even visiting. The book closes with a useful how-to on investigating your origins; general information comes first, in subsections such as "Talk to Your Elders" and "Get a DNA Test" and is followed by country-specific advice relating to the nations visited in the writings. VERDICT This poignant and information-filled travelog and genealogy primer is ideal for public libraries.—Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

Library Journal