Life stories by Ursula McCafferty
Review by Liz O'Neil

Ursula McCafferty, a blue-eyed, lively blonde octogenarian, produced five peppy children long ago and very recently "gave birth" to her first book, titled "Acorn Academy." In this easy, fun-to-read paperback she recalls the humorous side of family life. And later, kids grown, she tells of her round-the-world adventures with her husband Hugh and then junkets alone.

"Primarily" says this new author, "I share with the reader a walk on the sunny side of life."

It's not that Ursula McCafferty long yearned to become a writer. Rather, her well-phrased letters to the editor published in a Connecticut newspaper had a positive response. Her online correspondence with SNET Internet's feature writer Beth Bruno led to assignments for travel pieces and "family tree" articles for both SNET Internet and the Senior Network.

In "Acorn Academy," the author succinctly begins her tale with her experiences as a rosy-cheeked 5-year-old immigrant child (she was born in Hamburg, Germany) who grew up in New York during the Depression. "A time when a nickel was a big deal," she says. It was a time for the innocence of childhood—playing hide-and-seek, winter sliding on city streets, then growing up, getting a job and meeting Hugh McCafferty. Her marriage at age 20 "will never last," friends said.

"Only lasted 52 years!" responds Ursula McCafferty, after Hugh unexpectedly died. Her amusing descriptions of the antics of the five children—three boys, two girls—growing up in a small Connecticut town include both familiar and unique family events. A young friend called this home front a kind of "nut house," hence the name "Acorn Academy."

We read about two tots, aged five and three, painting a basket of laundry blue. We venture into a chicken coop and watch a little boy trying to scare the chicken into laying eggs.

Beyond the McCafferty's "kids" there were "critters." All included were dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, goats, a rampant rat and a neighboring ram who came calling daily to play with the McCafferty collie.

"'Acorn Academy' is really a collection of many short stories woven together under one umbrella," says author McCafferty. "Each chapter is a separate story." This format works well too, in describing retirement travels. Hugh McCafferty retired from SNET, Ursula from her position as a U.S. postmaster.

Ursula tells of traveling Europe in a motor home with her husband, describes her trip to Greece "just in time for a revolution" and writes of celebrating her 75th birthday on a cruise ship on the Yangtze River in China.

There may be another book in the works—quin sabe?

Ursula McCafferty flashes a smile and sums up her philosophy: "I want to LIVE until I die, and I want to die laughing!"

***

Editor's Note: Meet the author! Ursula McCafferty will be at Barnes & Noble in West Hartford on January 19, 2002 at 2 p.m. On March 1, 2002, she will be at the Wallingford Library at noon. Copies of "Acorn Academy" will be available. Send email inquiries to umcc@snet.net

The reviewer, Liz O'Neil, is a freelance editor and journalist whose author interviews and book reviews have appeared in Connecticut publications and in Publishers Weekly.