A heartbreaking and hopeful look at living through the eyes and mind of Eileen. The story follows her from age 10 into her 60s and is almost entirely centered around her life. A child of Irish immigrants, she learns early the value of hard work and the devastation of alcoholism. As she grows up she finds success in school and her work and eventually marries Ed and has a son Connell. Since the story is the events of their lives, I don't want to give anything else away. 
 The best part for me was the consistency of the characters. They are so real (flaws and all) that you became very invested in them and care about what happens to them. I broke down and sobbed several times while reading this book. 
 The author spent ten years working on this book and you can tell from the quality of writing and story that it was a labour of love in a lot of ways. A great read!