Shamrocks …and a lot of laughs - 'This is Your Brain on Shamrocks'

One of the things that Farragher can do like no other is reflect on the Irish American experience and all the baggage that comes with it (good and bad). Alongside the humor -- and there’s lots of it -- Farragher also makes room for the struggles and sorrows of life too.

“The more honest you are about yourself the better the writing is. The Irish have often been concerned with or rebelling against the concern about what the neighbors will think. I could give a s*** about that,” he says.

“My parents have always been worried about that but I’m over it. My kids are going to read this book someday. They’re going to know exactly who their father is from it -- and my grandchildren if I’m lucky enough to see them.” 

Farragher attended his first ever book signing over the weekend, and the response showed him he’s onto a winner.

“To have a room full of strangers laughing hard at your work was terrific. I’m still on a high over it. It’s just one guy’s experience and one view of Irish America that is funny and thought provoking, but when you read it and put it together you’ll get a sense of who I am.”

Meanwhile, when Farragher’s mother heard about the new book she feared she’d be the target of an Angela’s Ashes style takedown. But what she saw and heard at the book signing has caused her to reconsider.

Farragher has an instinct why she’s had a change of heart. “After they read the book everyone wants to meet my mother. I told her over the weekend that she’s going to be the real star of the show, not me.”

Farragher will read from This Is Your Brain on Shamrocks at Fiddleheads Restaurant in Jamesburg, New Jersey on March 8. He will read at the New York Public Library in Staten Island on April 16 and the New York Public Library in Woodlawn on April 26. To attend or to order the book visit www.thisisyourbrainonshamrocks.com

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Nster.com