Life with Mae: A Detroit Family Memoir

By Neal Shine

Book Overview

A memoir of growing up on Detroit's East Side in the 1930s and 1940s combined with an often hilarious biographical portrait of Shine's mother, Mae.

In Life with Mae, the late Neal Shine combines an engaging memoir of his family life in prewar Detroit with a biography of his mother, Mae, whose vibrant spirit and fierce affection left an indelible mark on her three sons and their friends and neighbors.

Mae was born in 1909 in the small town of Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland, where her father ran the depot that distributed Guiness Stout. Going into service as a housekeeper at fourteen, Mae quickly saw that the only future she had in Ireland was as a servant. By the time she was eighteen, she had saved enough money from her housekeeping job for a one-way ticket to the United States, where she eventually settled in Detroit.

Shine, longtime editor and former publisher of the Detroit Free Press, tells his story in a series of entertaining interconnected vignettes, reflecting on his mother, his family life in Detroit, and later his journey to visit family in Ireland. Whether recounting Mae's feud with a local tavern owner, her distrust of the food sold by local grocers, or her standoff with a department store deliveryman who had come to repossess their furniture, Shine lovingly conveys his mother's fierce protective streak, her effervescent personality, and her outspoken identification with the poor. For fans of Shine's insightful and humorous storytelling, as well as fellow Detroiters and readers with Irish roots, Life with Mae will be an entertaining and satisfying read.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814332986
• ISBN13: 9780814332986
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

One of my Favorites

Uplifting and comical story of upbringing, from the perspective of the son of an Irish immigrant in Detroit. A wonderfully told story about a uniquely amazing mother and life.

An inspirational memoir and tribute.

Written by the late Neil Shine, longtime editor and former publisher of the Detroit Free Press, Life With Mae: A Detroit Family Memoir is the true story of daily life in Detroit as well as a biography of the author's strong-willed and spirited mother Mae. Born in 1909 in a small Irish town, Mae worked as a housekeeper at fourteen, and saved enough money for a one-way ticket to the United States by age eighteen. Life With Mae recounts her quirks, enthusiasm, protection, and love, as well as her identification with and compassion for the poor and downtrodden. An inspirational memoir and tribute.

Did your mother come from Ireland?

If you are looking for good writing, a good story, a happy and moving biography; if you're interested in Ireland, in the immigrant experience and a true story that screams to be made into a movie; if you're interested in the newspaper world, in short if you for once want your money's worth when you buy a book, this one is unputdownable. It's the sort of book that when you reach the last page, you start reading all over again at the beginning and enjoy it just as much - or more - the second time around. In sum: A classic.