Surrounded by the Bog

Surrounded by the Bog is a rather sad but true story that details the life of the author who grew up in Northern Ireland during such times of what could only be described back then at least from the point of view of the naked eye as to have been handicapped by an economy that was bogged down in a continuous spiraling out of control economic recession year after year without any foreseeable change or plan for the better. An economy in tatters, occasionally compounded by gale force winds, and downright bad weather to say the least, which included heavy rain, frost, and black ice on top of grey ice that made farming, which was basically the only means of survival almost impossible. Difficulties like just described were enough to turn anybody's head from left to right before making a definite decision on living there before even trying to etch out a living in a war-torn country. Deeply rooted in religious beliefs, and pounded in to a one track mind was constantly pelted in to our ways of thinking from an early age; downloaded, from the hierarchy of the catholic church, to living through a period in time without much prosperity from the point of view of ever finding a decent job to support oneself from a financial stance, only to be compounded by a suboptimal educational system that really served little purpose for the students who went through such a schooling network. If the previous disadvantages weren't enough to live through; then, when the guerrilla styled warfare began to take shape in nineteen and sixty-eight between Catholics and Protestants, things as they would say in Latin America went from Guatemala to guatepeor; (worse) especially, at the detriment of the psychological health of the younger population growing up in the aforementioned war-torn nation.

Due to the topics just previously discussed, immigration; therefore, began to take hold at an alarming rate; especially, when the younger population became of age to travel. Destinations varied between England which was the most popular, probably due to its close proximity to Ireland, followed closely by Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand. Most Irish immigrants fared very well in their new locations, and this was probably due to the good work ethics that seemed to follow them, while others became absorbed in consuming alcohol, which led to their rapid downfall.

Surrounded by the bog begins by outlining the authors personal experience of living in Northern Ireland, in a humble house with lighting provided from a hurricane lamp powered from paraffin oil which had a thick wick soaked in the oil, and then ignited by way of a matchstick. This way of illuminating the living room or any other space required was ideal as far as cheap energy was concerned, because these metal lamps were relatively safe if properly handled and used in a ventilated area in order to avoid toxic fumes. The book continues by outlining each step of the authors different stages in life, which include all the way up from primary school, secondary school, and his early years as an amateur boxer to working as an automobile mechanic until he immigrated from Ireland to the United States of America.