“I Hate to Write”

About the Book

“I Hate to Write” is the compelling story of Edith Agnes McCormick an Irish immigrant, a devoted mother raising three sons in New York City in the early 1900’s through WWI.   Edith is an extraordinary woman of courage and fortitude. Through her “Record”…. a diary, which amazingly encompasses the period 1901 to 1919, Edith provides a compelling, extraordinarily personal glimpse into family life, but also the events occurring at the turn of the century through the cataclysmic changes of WWI.

Edith’s writing style is an educated one, her sense of humor with respect to family life in Manhattan with all of its challenges jumps off the pages and captures the heart and mind of the reader in a unique and captivating fashion. She opens our eyes to a time when flight was a breathtaking novelty. It was a time prior to air conditioning, when horses were dying in the sweltering heat of New York summers, when people sought summer relief in the seashore cottages of Staten Island. Edith’s day to day thoughts are illuminating, as she opines upon such events as Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal, the Russo-Sino War, Peary’s discovery of the North Pole and the need for equal rights in the workplace and the vote for women. Edith’s patriotic zeal and support for her country and its allies is compelling.  Equally compelling is Edith’s concern for her sons as America is drawn into the war in Europe.

If you want a great story, order a book now….buy one for a friend or family member! 

About the Author

Edith A. McCormick is an extraordinary woman, an Irish immigrant of courage and fortitude making her way in New York City during the late 1800s and into the new century. Through her “Record” which encompasses the period 1901 to 1918, Edith provides a compelling, very personal glimpse into family life, but also events occurring at the turn of the century through the cataclysmic change of WWI. As is the case with many young girls who capture their inner most thoughts in the form of a diary, Edith has done so as an adult, married woman, striving to raise three sons in New York City. Her writing style is an educated one, her sense of humor with respect to family life in Manhattan with all of its challenges jumps off the pages and captures the heart and mind of the reader in a unique and captivating fashion. She opens our eyes to a time when flight was a breathtaking novelty. It was a time prior to air conditioning, when horses were dying in the sweltering heat of New York summers, when people sought summer relief in the seashore cottages of Staten Island. Edith’s day to day thoughts are illuminating, as she comments upon such events as Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal, the Russo-Sino War, Peary’s discovery of the North Pole, our entry and involvement in WWI and more. The patriotic zeal and the support for her country and its allies that she exudes in her “Record” entries is compelling. Equally compelling is Edith’s concern for her sons as America is increasingly drawn into the war in Europe. Despite her Irish immigrant background, Edith’s disdain for the pro German, Irish clergy of New York City and those at odds with America’s war effort is palpable and revealing in its intensity.