An Irish Face

by Angela Keane

Born in a convent to an unwed mother before adoption was legal in Ireland, Maura O'Sullivan was raised by a "nursing mother." She knew she was different from her two older siblings but her history was never discussed in her childhood home. Her journey in the pursuit of happiness took her from Ireland to England and finally to America. While living in America Maura got what she wanted most in life: a family of her own. "I was going to have a baby whether I was married or not, it was just that important to me," she says. Maura married her American sweetheart, and they raised four daughters together. Jack provided well for his family but he didn't make life easy for Maura and their children. Even so, Maura found a way to live the life she wanted. Socrates famously said the unexamined life is not worth living, but it's one thing to review the details of your life in the privacy of your own home; it's another to share your story with anyone who wants to read about it. As openly and as honestly as she can, Maura gives us the gift of an examined life. By doing so she enriches all of us and will continue to do so long after she takes off on her last great adventure.