An Orchid for a Silver Lining: If the Kitchen Table Could Talk

Book excerpt: Awash with humor, insight, love, and the heartbreaks of life, An Orchid for a Silver Lining: If the Kitchen Table Could Talk is a full-length memoir beginning with the author’s parents’ emigration from Newfoundland to New York in 1922. Written in a whimsical, observational style and pace, the author details coming of age in Albany, New York, the military service of her father and brothers in WWI and WWII, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s, and parenthood. The orchid is a gift from her first love; the silver lining is a reward of recovery from alcoholism; and the kitchen table is the author’s voice. About the Author Eileen O’Dea Roach is the youngest of nine, lost in the shuffle of siblings, ages spread over twenty-four years. Her story is for those afraid to speak their truth. She earned an AD at Hudson Valley Community College, then a Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of Saint Rose while assistant to the college grant writer during her last year of study. Professionally, she spent years as a legal secretary, legislative assistant for NYS labor union, and is a member of United Steelworkers Staff Union.