Kirkus Review

The lovingly written memoir of an Irish-American family, beginning with Thomas Dougan, immigrant and Revolutionary War patriot, and closing with its author at her mother's funeral in the 1960s.

The history of the Dougans follows the history of the US from colonial times, through the periods of slavery, Westward expansion, industrialization, the World Wars, and the Vietnam era. It chronicles the suffering and success of generation after generation of the family, whose early members seem uniformly brave, generous, enterprising, and hardworking.

Once the country has been settled, however, the family begins to show its weaker strains; there are signs of mental illness and alcoholism, as well as bad luck and poor judgment.

Family members are distinguished momentarily, but gradually fade into a collective self, as the book follows the arduous journey of yet another covered wagon heading south, then west, from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, Indiana,Missouri, and Kansas.

Far too many young women die in childbirth, and parents hold their breath until their children reach the age of 11, whereupon they feel relatively confident their children will survive the harsh life of the pioneers. The Quaker influence is strong; this open-minded family befriends (some of them even marrying) Native Americans, African-Americans, and Jews.

The chapter on the generation that supported the Underground Railroad is moving, as is the final portion of the book, in which a war bride reunites with her young husband, only to find him shell-shocked, addicted, and abusive.

The author emerges at this point to describe the resulting dysfunctional and battered family of women. The youngest, she dreams of her family's vanished glory, setting out to research and tell their story.

This portrait of an American family has little lyricism, but a multitude of brief and often tantalizing depictions of admirable Dougan descendants.

Kirkus Review

 

 

MidWest Book Review

Beginning in the 1700's, and spanning eras up through the World Wars, Vanished Glory: A Family In America by Connie Lynne Smith, is an impressively written historical novel that traces the roots, struggles, victories, and heartbreak of a family with roots in American soil since its colonial days, when the Irish patriarch escaped English tyranny for life in the New World.  A resounding tale of legacies handed down through the generations and challenges defining each new decade, Vanished Glory is a wonderful and highly recommended reading experience which documents Connie Lynne Smith as a

storyteller of talented originality.

               
Curled Up With a Good Book

Heartland Book Review

'K.C. author readies

book for release'

 From Heart of America Irish Life

"Kansas City native Connie Lynne Smith has something to celebrate when her book, Vanished Glory: a Family in America is pub­lished. The book is a family saga based on the true story of her Irish ancestors who left Donegal generations ago for an uncer­tain future in a new land. It is also her story, growing up in Kansas City in a less than ideal family situation, and. how she endured the hardships as well.

Kansas City natives will recognize the names and places that she mentions in the book, taking us back to a simpler time when life wasn't so fast-paced. Not only will readers get a glimpse of her family history, but a snapshot of early Kansas City history as well.

The Dougans certainly persevered in the new land, through luck and pluck. Many of these same characteristics seemed to have been passed down through the generations to Connie in her search to uncover the closely-held secrets of her family. In the process she discovered many long-lost relatives that she never knew existed.

Though each family saga is unique, Connie's story can certainly serve as an inspiration to family history buffs. The story behind the story is almost as inter­esting as the book and can be found on Connie's website at www.connielynne.com. "

From Dr. Gloria Gannaway, UC Berkeley 

   "This epic story of an Irish-American family speaks not only to Irish Americans, but all Americans. Indeed, it speaks to all people. History comes alive in this book!  The inspiring saga of this family makes us realize that we are all related links in an eternal chain, that intersects the human race.  The author has humanized history with gripping, emotional, unforgettable stories that will have you smiling, crying and sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what is going to happen next, to characters you have come to care about.

    Then, just when you think there are no surprises left, the whole book suddenly becomes charged with a new type of energy, as the author's own story unfolds before you.  This overwhelming realization, that a living person's story is revealing itself, transports the reader from stories about the past, to the story of a person actually living now, and connects the living with the dead in the eternal chain of life.

    The vivid portrayals make this book more than just a novel.  These characters become real and the author becomes the sum total of all who came before her.  I did not want to put this book down--there is no stopping place--just like real life. I did not want it to end. I did not want to say goodbye to this family.  My first thought after finishing it, was to read it again, to capture even more of the rich detail and texture of the individuals and the historical context they found themselves in.  I must read it again!"

Gloria J. Gannaway, Ph.D.

Dr. Gannaway has been a teacher and academic writer for over twenty-five years. She has taught in many universities and institutes in and out of the US, including The University of California at Berkeley, The University of Texas at Austin,  and universities in Turkey and Spain.She currently teaches online courses for UC Berkeley in cyberculture studies and creative nonfiction writing.  She has one booklength publication: Transforming Mind. She currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.

From Dr. Ann Rizzi

“I could not put this book down.  This is a
spectacular, spell-binding story which grips the reader’s attention and immerses one into the sorrows, joys, and triumphs of the characters.   The author has created, with a fine balance of reality and imaginative flavor, a classic, which embodies immigrant life, over a span of six generations, and yields a thrilling view of the drama which helped create this country.  All of this has been accomplished without resorting to gratuitous violence or sex.  I give it a 10."

Dr. Ann Rizzi, B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Professor, Masters Teaching Program, Webster University. Dr. Rizzi is the mother of eight and has received many awards and commendations during her illustrious teaching career, including the Two Thousand Points of Light Foundation award and Woman, Mother and Teacher of the Year awards.