The Blight

In 1845 Ireland had eight million peasants who primarily subsisted on the potato for food and sustenance. They planted and cultivated this food for generations, eating little else. Without a formal education, the Irish peasants raised their families by merely growing this simple vegetable. All that was needed was seed and a patch of land. Then one fateful autumn in 1845, a treacherous blight withered most of the potato crops, which left the majority of Ireland starving. Since it was their only food source, there was no alternative but to perish. Based upon historical facts, The Blight leads you through the personal lives of one particular family as they struggled for survival throughout that famine. From death and despair to endurance and generosity, all the facets of human tragedy are exposed in this gripping story. The author has made every attempt to document the facts of The Great Potato Famine as they actually occurred while using a fictitious family as the victims of this historical tragedy. Written on a personal level, The Blight reveals the dynamics of famine and shows, once again throughout our precarious history, how very cruel government or humankind can be.