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Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run
Throughout his childhood, Mike O’Connor’s family pretended to be normal. But Mike and his two younger sisters knew that their parents were hiding something–a secret they didn’t dare talk about. The family appeared to be no different from any of their small-town Texas neighbors–that is, until suddenly, the O’Connors would flee, leaving with only a few hours’ notice, abandoning houses and pets and possessions and running across the border to Mexico.
For all of Mike’s adolescence, O’Connor family life alternated between relative comfort and abject poverty–sometimes within a matter of days. From living in a Texas ranch house to living in two rented rooms in an impoverished Mexican village, the O’Connors never knew what lay ahead–only that they must not draw attention to themselves. Though their parents steadfastly denied it, the children knew that something was chasing them–a past that hovered like an invisible enemy, always waiting to strike, always in pursuit.
But it was not until much later, after his parents’ deaths, that Mike O’Connor, now an investigative reporter, was able to uncover the truth about his family’s past. As the secrets were unlocked one by one and the long trail of deception unfurled, Mike faced the heart-wrenching ramifications of his parents’ actions–and made a discovery that shook his family loyalty to its core.
Full of incredible details of a life lived on both sides of the border, in near-poverty and near-wealth, Mike O’Connor’s account is a real-life suspense story of childhood mysteries and strange circumstances that will enthrall readers to its very end.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2007
16 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 11, 2007
Well, the reason for his family's constant upheavel and paranoia was not what I expected. In fact, it was pretty overblown and enraging the way misunderstandings and fear escalated into what was probably an occasionally justified panic. I don't want to spoil the secret that kept his family on the run for decades, so I guess I'll just leave it at that. I couldn't wait to figure out the mystery and I read the book in one night. It's a fast read, well told, even if I am a morbid creature that felt let down because it wasn't this huge criminal bloodbath from the past. A fairly compelling dysfunctional family history.
October 2, 2007
Oh, what a tangled web! O'Connor's memoir begins with his childhood memories of life on the run with his parents and two sisters. The family mystery continues into his adulthood. The author skillfully takes his readers in the last third of the book on his journey as he delves into his family's past to uncover the mountain of secrets that his parents took with them to their graves. There's a powerful message of acceptance and forgiveness in O'Connor's story.
July 14, 2024
3.5 stars from me for this volume of personal investigative journalism. His hectic upbringing fueled a need to know secrets about his family, verified by official records and first- hand interviews. When he did finally tell us what he learned, it was a bit anticlimactic. Small legal indiscretions were then amplified by the general paranoia of the times. He tells a tale of a challenging childhood that he managed to turn into an accomplished career in international reporting. With meatier subjects he can probably produce some fascinating stories. This was a warm-up.
September 28, 2008
A compelling memoir, starring parents who were at best dreamers, and at worst, seriously deluded. My parents were also a little on the nutty side, and although their nuttiness manifested differently from Mr. O'Connor's parents, I identified with the family system of benevolent lies. The system says: this thing that looks, quacks, and walks like a duck, is in fact a rolltop desk, or a rare breed of hippo, or your grandmother, and you must act accordingly. It's a story with humor, and intrigue, and sadness. It's Death Of A Salesman, with Willy Loman on the lam.
July 2, 2010
Looking forward to reading this. My mother is loaning it to me after she said she couldn't put it down. It's being passed through the family as it's been written about the author's father and it turns out that he dated by grandmother back in the day. As the world turns....
October 22, 2007
Cool! Dysfunctional, paranoid family life on the run... Makes my family look normal!
January 25, 2019
I found the title to be the most thrilling part of this book. Sorry. Here's my suggested title: lots of drama followed closely by a fairly benign reveal.
June 30, 2019
Great book. Why would a family have to move on short notice? From Texas to Mexico and back again, then to California. Grabbing only what was needed and leaving everything else behind, crossing the border in less populated areas and usually at night. The O'Connor family put on a front that everything was normal, but the kids knew they were hiding something. It wasn't until after their parents died that Mike O'Connor delved into their parents history to find the truth.
July 31, 2019
An interesting real life experience of paranoia during the time after WW II and how one family dealt with it. The story dragged in a lot of areas and I was tired of hearing the same sob story over and over and just wanted to get to the reason behind the upheaval. Too much duplication but overall a sad story of people trying to deal with self-inficted problems.
May 21, 2018
A gripping read. I lost a lot of sleep, trying to get to the end of this book!
April 21, 2022
An interesting story, sort of. Too often he repeats himself or else he adds lots of little, meaningless drivel.
May 14, 2023
This book took way to long to get to the point. I am shocked it was not a DNF for me. A lot of it was very humdrum, just this side of boring.
September 19, 2023
Compelling, unforgettable book.
December 1, 2022
It really kept my interest in trying to figure out this family’s secret.
May 8, 2017
A great title for a book. Recalling life on the run from the child's perspective. The author held the secret of why the family was always on the run until the end. You find out the reason the same way he did. I enjoy reading family histories and this didn't disappoint.
July 15, 2009
Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run is quite the title. And, coincidentally, it is quite the book. The author, Mike O’Connor, is a journalist who has worked for NPR, CBS and The New York Times covering conflicts from Central America to Yugoslavia to Israel and Palestine. He uses his journalistic talents to uncover a mystery that had torn his family apart, one that couldn’t be uncovered until both of his parents died.
About a year after his mother died, O’Connor finally opens a box she had always kept with her. He was hoping the contents held some clues to why his parents would uproot the family, leave almost everything behind, and flee, sometimes in the middle of the night. The first time it happens, O’Connor is 9. Living in Texas, they suddenly go on “vacation” and end up in a tiny village in Mexico, staying in a few rooms in the house of the town’s matriarch. Then suddenly, they go home again. A few years later, back to Mexico, in the same village, this time staying for many years. His dad would return to Texas, sometimes for weeks at a time, sometimes sending money, sometimes not. It gets bad enough that O’Connor, though barely a teen, works on the streets, selling pillows, giving tourist guided tours, and even a little pimping. But dad always comes home, and it is obvious to the reader that he adores his wife and children.
The family has a kind of code. They don’t talk about extended family - the kids meet only one aunt while their parents are alive. They never admit to fleeing - they’re always on an adventure. They don’t talk about the things they left behind. An undercurrent of fear prevents the kids from breaking the code.
But as O’Connor and his siblings get older, they begin to chafe under the family’s unspoken rules. And this wreaks even greater havoc for the family. At one point, to get away, O’Connor hitches with a friend from Mexico to California, hoping to find their fortune, but ends up arrested as a juvenile runaway. His father refuses to come get him for weeks. His sister applies for college loans, and causes yet another flight. The family gets poorer and poorer.
I’ll not ruin the secret, but the truth about this family’s mystery is infuriating. That this family had to endure such insecurity and poverty for so minor a reason made me so mad and sad. This story is riveting, suspenseful and just plain good.
About a year after his mother died, O’Connor finally opens a box she had always kept with her. He was hoping the contents held some clues to why his parents would uproot the family, leave almost everything behind, and flee, sometimes in the middle of the night. The first time it happens, O’Connor is 9. Living in Texas, they suddenly go on “vacation” and end up in a tiny village in Mexico, staying in a few rooms in the house of the town’s matriarch. Then suddenly, they go home again. A few years later, back to Mexico, in the same village, this time staying for many years. His dad would return to Texas, sometimes for weeks at a time, sometimes sending money, sometimes not. It gets bad enough that O’Connor, though barely a teen, works on the streets, selling pillows, giving tourist guided tours, and even a little pimping. But dad always comes home, and it is obvious to the reader that he adores his wife and children.
The family has a kind of code. They don’t talk about extended family - the kids meet only one aunt while their parents are alive. They never admit to fleeing - they’re always on an adventure. They don’t talk about the things they left behind. An undercurrent of fear prevents the kids from breaking the code.
But as O’Connor and his siblings get older, they begin to chafe under the family’s unspoken rules. And this wreaks even greater havoc for the family. At one point, to get away, O’Connor hitches with a friend from Mexico to California, hoping to find their fortune, but ends up arrested as a juvenile runaway. His father refuses to come get him for weeks. His sister applies for college loans, and causes yet another flight. The family gets poorer and poorer.
I’ll not ruin the secret, but the truth about this family’s mystery is infuriating. That this family had to endure such insecurity and poverty for so minor a reason made me so mad and sad. This story is riveting, suspenseful and just plain good.
September 28, 2015
Found his to be a fascinating memoir and family mystery along the lines of the Glass Castle. I found myself quite drawn into Mr O'Connor's story of the chaotic and nomadic life he lived with his family.
I found myself racing to the end, wanting to know, as Mr O'Connor ultimately had, what drove his parents to live their lives as fugitives. However, it's noteworthy that once Mr O'Connor transitioned from the telling of his growing up to to learning of his family's past, the pace and voice of the book completely changed. The book's voice moved dramatically from the intensely experiential and emotional voice of his younger self to the more distanced & analytical reporter that Mr O'Connor has become as a adult. A very dramatic change
Mr. O'Connor's book well worth the read. The story of his childhood is worth reading. It is a reminder of the resiliency of children. This story is a good story for young parents to read, so to realize that children see & hear more than one thinks. They are perceptive to deception and crave feeling safe.
Despite the chaos, Mr O'Connor's parents provided unconditional love in a non-violent and non-despairing environment regardless of their circumstances. That in itself was an amazing part of their story - and at least gave Mike, Mary and Fiona that.
I found myself racing to the end, wanting to know, as Mr O'Connor ultimately had, what drove his parents to live their lives as fugitives. However, it's noteworthy that once Mr O'Connor transitioned from the telling of his growing up to to learning of his family's past, the pace and voice of the book completely changed. The book's voice moved dramatically from the intensely experiential and emotional voice of his younger self to the more distanced & analytical reporter that Mr O'Connor has become as a adult. A very dramatic change
Mr. O'Connor's book well worth the read. The story of his childhood is worth reading. It is a reminder of the resiliency of children. This story is a good story for young parents to read, so to realize that children see & hear more than one thinks. They are perceptive to deception and crave feeling safe.
Despite the chaos, Mr O'Connor's parents provided unconditional love in a non-violent and non-despairing environment regardless of their circumstances. That in itself was an amazing part of their story - and at least gave Mike, Mary and Fiona that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2009
This is a brave and touching book. Mike O'Connor and his sisters spend their childhoods on the run with their parents--some unseen, unknown adversary is pursuing them, but O'Connor does not solve the mystery until years after his parents' deaths. They live a life of paranoia and uncertainty, with nearly all odds against the children's future successes, yet the O'Connor siblings manage to create stable and productive lives of their own. To me, the most powerful and sad parts of the book were O'Connor's brutal descriptions of the experience of children realizing their parents are not reliable and cannot keep them safe. He does find humor in some of the more insane situations the family finds themselves in, but this is a memoir more along the lines of The Glass Castle than Running With Scissors.
April 17, 2008
I'm not a big reader of memoirs. Usually only if they are by historical or sports figures. This one isn't bad.
The author grew up knowing that his family was running from something, but not what. They would move to Mexico with only hours notice, leaving their house, belongings, even their pets behind. Panic would be just under the surface if they met with police officers, or authority figures of any kind.
It wasn't until his parents died that the author tries to investigate what they were running from. As in life the answer is not quite as dramatic as you would think.
The author does a good job of keeping an interesting narrative. He doles out the clues bit by bit, as he got them. He keeps you in the dark about what is going on until the final chapters of the book that cover his investigation. His writing and narrative manages to keep you engaged and interested. The ending is slightly anti-climatic, but completely reasonable and plausible. A good read.
The author grew up knowing that his family was running from something, but not what. They would move to Mexico with only hours notice, leaving their house, belongings, even their pets behind. Panic would be just under the surface if they met with police officers, or authority figures of any kind.
It wasn't until his parents died that the author tries to investigate what they were running from. As in life the answer is not quite as dramatic as you would think.
The author does a good job of keeping an interesting narrative. He doles out the clues bit by bit, as he got them. He keeps you in the dark about what is going on until the final chapters of the book that cover his investigation. His writing and narrative manages to keep you engaged and interested. The ending is slightly anti-climatic, but completely reasonable and plausible. A good read.
January 20, 2008
The author, formerly a well-known journalist and reporter, writes the story of his life. His parents never explained the reasons that the family lived constantly on "alert" and in fear of authorities, fleeing from place to place for periods of time, until something happens to raise fear in his parents, and they are off again. His parents always tried to make it seem like the children were fortunate to have so many new experiences. but the children eventually came to resent the constant interruptions in their lives and pull away from the parents. It wasn't until after his mother's death, twenty some odd years after his father's, that the author decided to try to understand why his parents had acted as they did, and it is a long painful process to unravel the mysteries. The title of the book is a quote from a telegram his father sent to his mother during the 1950's or 60's, I believe.
August 14, 2010
Mike O'Connor shares his story of an unconventional life growing up with parents who are constantly on the run, ready to pick up and move (often in the middle of the night)leaving behind belongings, pets and friends. Many times these moves were to a small town in Mexico where they lived a life hovering near poverty. After he grows up and becomes an investigative reporter for CBS, he uses his skills to solve the mystery about what made his parents run. Family secrets, dysfunctions, forgiveness and the role of history played a role in fueling their fears. I enjoyed reading about Mike's father's family who lived in the Boston area. This book tells the tale of a man who came full circle from repeating some of the dysfunctions he acquired in response to his upbringing to putting closure around his life and recognizing what was driving his behaviors and he now lives in peace in Rome, Italy with his wife and family.
March 19, 2013
I won this book on the Goodreads Giveaways. This is a memoir based on Mike O'Connors true life experiences. Mikes parents met and married while across seas, his father, a charismatic personality, serving in the military meets and marries hos true love. I thoroughly enjoyed Mike O'Connors narrative of his life experiences as he vividly describes his constant flight as a young boy; his family up and moving, throughout his growing up years, suddenly and without explanation, in a moments notice. He knows something is not 'right' but because he is fearful to ask and his parents never tell why, he remains confused, the secrets hidden, and yet he remains loyal to his parents and family. Untold family secrets leave a lasting effect on the psyche and as an adult, and after his parents deaths, Mike and his siblings are driven by unanswered questions to seek out the truth.
September 20, 2010
This book's secondary title is "A Memoir of Life on the Run." The author is an NPR and New York Times reporter who, along with his two sisters, was dragged from pillar to post by his parents who were running for an undisclosed reason. The family would pick up on a moment's notice, move to Mexico, live in abject poverty, and then return to America where first-class, private schools were the norm. Throughout his life, they moved repeatedly in this fashion.
After his parents died, his family prevailed upon him to discover what was behind this mysterious lifestyle. As he was an investigative reporter, he had the contacts and skills to perform this task.
It's an honest book and one you won't want to lay aside.
After his parents died, his family prevailed upon him to discover what was behind this mysterious lifestyle. As he was an investigative reporter, he had the contacts and skills to perform this task.
It's an honest book and one you won't want to lay aside.
March 20, 2011
Read this for a book discussion group and found it intriguing because of the "secret" undisclosed until the end of the book - the fear that drove this family to keep fleeing. Throughout it was hinted that there was an immigration problem and because of my work history, this was especially interesting. The suggestions that alcohol was toying with the family dynamics was also interesting, although the author did not delve deeply into this topic - either because it was too painful, or perhaps because he chooses not to recognize it as a problem. I found myself attached to the characters of the children and angry at the parents for not providing a better life for them. My personal spin - others might completely empathize with the parents!
July 27, 2009
Don't want to spoil it for anyone who might read it or repeat any of the summaries. It's a compelling story and one I'm not sure could happen today; given the many ways we are tracked I think it would be pretty hard to drop out of sight, at least for very long. What the author discovered through his years-long effort to understand his parents' situation profoundly affected his identity as an individual and as part of a family. Though his family stayed intact, in some ways the story is similar to adoptees searching for their birth parents. It's also a testament to the ways that beliefs (factually true or not) sustain us.
November 19, 2016
Great title, good premise, promising start, then it kind of fell apart. The problem was that there was a mystery looming over the book and instead of constructing it like a novel, where he feeds us new information and clues and perhaps even misdirection occasionally, he made it a straightforward memoir. His parents' mysterious behavior just gets annoying after awhile and the longer O'Connor dragged out the story, the more exciting and satisfying the payoff would have to be to justify the suspense. Unfortunately, the answer was not entirely clear, a combination of things rather than one unifying reason for the odd history. In the end it was all a bit of a disappointment.
September 6, 2016
A very interesting read, I kept reading because I wanted to find out what the big secret was.
I came to the same conclusion that the author did, if only his parents had stopped running and gotten a lawyer and gotten the mess settled at the beginning, such upheaval didn't have to be their lives. A great love story that came at a great cost.
I came to the same conclusion that the author did, if only his parents had stopped running and gotten a lawyer and gotten the mess settled at the beginning, such upheaval didn't have to be their lives. A great love story that came at a great cost.
September 13, 2016
Phenomenal! An incredibly gripping and detailed account of the author's childhood in living "off the grid" while hiding from a seemingly pervasive threat, and not to be outdone by the author's exhausting and emotionally moving journey as an adult in uncovering his family's dark secrets and truth that shadowed a lifetime of deception. Even with all that, a cathartic ending with family love and forgiveness winning out.
May 21, 2014
While not the same story, this tale has the same flavor or feel as The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio. O'Connor spends about 2/3 of the book building up to why his family was on the run for so long -- interesting tale and fascinating info. regarding the historical period and what the country was like 30-60 years ago.
March 18, 2008
An interesting story, and not a book i would typically read, which I guess is partially why the score is lower than most of my others. I would definitely recommend this book if you are interested in Communism. I thought his note about the authenticity was great, and I definitely did not step away rom this memoir, as I do most, skeptically wondering if any of that really happened...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews