It’s All in the Genes

Okay, so you’ve probably noticed that I like to play with ethnicities. Bella’s family was very, very Italian. If you read “Hello Hollywood,” Athena’s family was very, very Greek. In “The Director’s Cut” Tia’s family was very, very Mexican. Now, in “Picture Perfect,” we have a very, very Irish family. Why do this? Just to be cliché? Not really. There’s something so engaging about going back to our roots. In my case, I’m very, very Scottish/English. Likely you’re very, very “something” too.

Hannah learns from an early age that her Irish heritage is meant to shape her life and her destiny. She leans on that heritage—her strong McDermott roots—to stay grounded.

Here’s a little clip from the book about her Grandpa Aengus, who played a key role in Hannah’s approach to all-things-Irish:

BLURB: There’s no denying the fact that my Grandpa Aengus shaped the way I look at life. The man had a saying for everything. If I fell and scraped my knee, he mended it with an Irish proverb: For every storm, a rainbow,? for every tear, a smile. If I woke up with a head cold, he had an Irish remedy: A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures. If I got into an argument with my BFF, he offered sage Irish wisdom: Don’t give cherries to pigs or advice to fools.

The man firmly believed that anything good that came to him in this life was, in some way, tied to his great fortune at being born Irish. No one ever debated him on that point. No one in the family, anyway. Since his passing three years ago, those once-quirky proverbs and blessings have brought those of us who loved him an ongoing sense of comfort and peace.

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If you read the book from cover to cover, you’ll find LOTS of proverbs as chapter-starters. Here are a few of my faves:

“Bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part.”

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May you get all your wishes but one,

So you always have something to strive for.

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May you be half an hour in Heaven before the Devil knows you’re dead.

So, let’s talk about ethnicities. Why were people drawn to Bella’s Italian family and/or Hannah’s Irish roots? What is your cultural heritage and why do you strive to keep it alive? Any fun proverbs or sayings passed down from your grandparents or parents?