We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It
A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood
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Narrated by:
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Gerard Doyle
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By:
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Tom Phelan
About this listen
In the tradition of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields, Tom Phelan’s We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It is a heartfelt and masterfully written memoir of growing up in Ireland in the 1940s.
Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish Midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy, and backbreaking.
It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone, and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland.
We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities.
©2019 Tom Phelan (P)2019 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Joy Dettman
- Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
- Length: 20 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives.
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Pearl in a Cage
- By Verita on 06-16-17
By: Joy Dettman
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The Red Pony
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Raised on a ranch in northern California, Jody is well-schooled in the hard work and demands of a rancher's life. He is used to the way of horses, too; but nothing has prepared him for the special connection he will forge with Gabilan, the hot-tempered pony his father gives him. With Billy Buck, the hired hand, Jody tends and trains his horse, restlessly anticipating the moment he will sit high upon Gabilan's saddle. But when Gabilan falls ill, Jody discovers there are still lessons he must learn about the ways of nature and, particularly, the ways of man.
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About the narration
- By Elle on 05-03-12
By: John Steinbeck
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Long Lankin
- By: Lindsey Barraclough
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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When Cora and her little sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their great-aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome and are desperate to go back to London. But Auntie Ida’s life was devastated the last time two young girls were at Guerdon Hall, and now her nieces’ arrival has reawakened an evil that has lain in wait for years. A haunting voice in an empty room; a strange, scarred man lurking in the graveyard; mysterious words scrawled on the walls of the abandoned church ... all point to a horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its grip for centuries.
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AMAZING!!!
- By Sharron on 09-06-14
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Medieval Woman
- Village Life in the Middle Ages
- By: Ann Baer
- Narrated by: Sarah Whitehouse
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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A history of peasants in the Middle Ages, the story takes the listener into the life of Marion, the carpenter's wife, and her extended family as they struggle to survive through hardship, featuring a year in their lives at the mercy of the weather and the Lord of the Manor. Existing without soap, paper or glass and only with the most basic of tools, we learn how they survive starvation, sickness, fire and natural disaster in their home on the edge of the Weald.
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Listen to this on a cold dark night.
- By V on 03-07-19
By: Ann Baer
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An Unseemly Wife
- By: E. B. Moore
- Narrated by: Natalie Gold
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Not all journeys come to an end.... 1867: Ruth Holtz has more blessings than she can count - a loving husband, an abundant farm, beautiful children, and the warm embrace of the Amish community. Then, the English arrive, spreading incredible stories of free land in the West and inspiring her husband to dream of a new life in Idaho. Breaking the rules of their Order, Ruth’s husband packs up his pregnant wife and their four children and joins a wagon train heading west.
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disappointed
- By dave on 01-02-23
By: E. B. Moore
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The Grey Horse
- By: R. A. MacAvoy
- Narrated by: Steve Coulter
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the colorful and magical backdrop of Ireland, The Grey Horse chronicles a time when the Irish people suffered under harsh English overlords who sought to destroy their culture and way of life. Into the Irish town of Carraroe, a magnificent, completely grey stallion appears. The horse brings with him the promise of better times and magical happenings, for he is actually the shape-shifted form of Ruairi MacEibhir, journeyed to a time of danger in order to win the hand of the woman he loves.
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A good enough irish tale
- By Ellenaeddy on 03-20-13
By: R. A. MacAvoy
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The Yorkshire Shepherdess
- By: Amanda Owen
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Amanda Owen has been seen by millions on ITV's The Dales, living a life that has almost gone in today's modern world, a life ruled by the seasons and her animals. She is a farmer's wife and shepherdess, living alongside her husband, Clive, and seven children at Ravenseat, a 2,000 acre sheep hill farm at the head of Swaledale in North Yorkshire. It's a challenging life but one she loves.
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I want to go and have cream tea and meet all the animals and the shepherdess herself
- By luvs aussies on 05-30-19
By: Amanda Owen
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The Good Thief
- By: Hannah Tinti
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Twelve-year-old Ren doesn't know who his parents were. He doesn't know who left him at St. Anthony's orphanage, or how he lost his left hand when still an infant. He is resigned to life without a family to call his own and terrified of the future. But then a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren's long-lost brother, and his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand and his parents is enough to persuade the monks at the orphanage to release the boy. But is Benjamin really who he says he is?
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Close But No Cigar?
- By Andrew Moore on 10-03-09
By: Hannah Tinti
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Justin Morgan Had a Horse
- By: Marguerite Henry
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early years of our country, a poor school teacher, Justin Morgan, receives a horse and her tiny colt in payment for some work. He wishes he had been given money instead. Hoping that he might sell both horses for a fair price, he asks his student, Joel, to break in the colt. To his surprise, young Joel soon discovers that this small, brown creature has special abilities: "Bub" can pull more than a team of oxen, and he can run faster than a racehorse.
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A Loved Classic
- By E. on 10-14-15
By: Marguerite Henry
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Father and I Were Ranchers
- Little Britches # 1
- By: Ralph Moody
- Narrated by: Cameron Beierle
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Moody family moves from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Experience the pleasures and perils of ranching in 20th Century America, through the eyes of a youngster.
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Very dissappointed , too much cussing.
- By Lovelessnomore on 05-29-15
By: Ralph Moody
What listeners say about We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- danielle
- 12-13-19
Warning: you'll laugh and cry
Excellent writing. Beautiful story. Lovely reading. We laughed until the last chapter and epilogue, when we cried.
Worth every penny.
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7 people found this helpful
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- CFitzRN
- 02-05-23
Thoroughly enjoyable, quintessentially Irish
A wonderful memoir narrated perfectly. A retelling of the life of an Irish farmer's son dotted with great humor, at times uproariously hilarious, and other times deeply moving. One is able to visualize each story in vivid detail while listening to this most talented narrator, whose various voices depict each character with perfect aplomb. I only wish I could listen again for the first time.
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- Bernie LaRiviere
- 01-21-23
Great book and narration
I love the narrators voice, he makes it feel like your in the book too.
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- Bijoux
- 11-04-23
Very enjoyable
Lovely story. Glimpse into a time passed and soon to be forgotten as people die off. It was a totally different world. Record stories of your grandparents.
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- Lunatic Fringe
- 07-11-23
LOVED IT !!
I've Listened to this book Over and over again !! its a Very Good !! a great story
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- Wimblie
- 01-04-23
Very cute, fun to hear.
Really neat book, loved hearing it. Not overly exciting but great stories worth hearing. Nice to know about times in the past and hear how people lived.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-04-23
funny
i found myself laughing much. and brought back memories of my dad and gma. excellant funny stories.
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- Johan Rodriguez
- 01-05-23
Great story
Loved this book. Thoroughly enjoyed the Irish vocabulary. Definitely reminds you of how easy we have it these days and the harder issues that people had to face back then on rural farms. Characters were well developed- moments of hilarity and sadness, truly enjoyed listening to this bit of history!
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- Kathleen Gerard
- 02-11-23
So good!
Poignant , real and rich! I loved hearing about life on an Irish farm in the 50s I loved hearing about how his father and mother never showed outward displays of affection, but how the author understood how much they loved each other by the fact that every night after dinner, his father would get up and wash the dishes, while his mother sat by the fire and read the paper… And so much more
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-25-21
I love this book
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the voice performance. The farm and people came to life! Can't recommend it enough!
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