It May Be Forever: An Irish Rebel On the American Frontier - Hardcover

by David M. Quinn (Author)

It May Be Forever is a nineteenth century tale of adventure and tragedy, based upon the real-life story of Michael Quinn. To escape the grinding poverty of Ireland's Great Famine, Michael and his family flee to England, where at age eight, Michael becomes a child laborer in a textile mill. As he grows older and more aware of British prejudice and discrimination, he is motivated to enlist with the Fenian rebels, a group determined to free Ireland from British colonial rule. Chronic unemployment, however, drives him to America, and defeat on the battlefield lands him on the untamed plains of the Wild West. Faced with unaccustomed opportunity, Michael quickly abandons the fight against oppression and turns away from family and friends. Dreams of achieving a great fortune lead him to support the dispossession of Native Americans of their lands and livelihood. But after the massacre at Wounded Knee, demons of conscience rise up in terrible nightmares, and only a Lakota holy man offers the hope of redemption. It May Be Forever is a cautionary tale, which shows how the many small decisions of life can create the most unintended consequences, and how easily a man of strong convictions may become that which he hates.