TALLAK! immigrant

by ML Forier

TALLAK! immigrant is part family history, part 19th century travelogue, part "How to Manual" to discover the untold lives of my ancestors . . . and yours.They leave their country and family, their customs and traditions. They leave their dead, buried in the local church cemetery. They hear languages unknown to them, walk unfamiliar city streets and undiscovered forest trails, face strange customs, exotic neighbors who look and smell and dress oddly. Tallak, his wife Ellen, her mother and siblings chose 1846 to leave Bamble, Norway for America. The traveling, the crowds, the languages, the open space; all contribute to the revolution of change they face . . . and survive. And they bring their own particular drama and mystery into their new • My great-great-grandmother leaves her youngest child behind in Norway; the rest of the family forgets her for 35 years. • Both of my great-grandmothers repeatedly sleep with their husbands-to-be before they wed. • Ellen’s brother Elias’s first wife mysteriously disappears and is never heard of in our family lore. • Tallak and his family are miraculously saved from the deadliest fire in American history that killed their neighbors and destroyed their community. • Widower Tallak marries a woman twenty years his junior and attempts (unsuccessfully) to hide it from his children and neighbors.• Then his children hide it from their descendants. This is a story of immigration and becoming Americans as it was then, with racial discrimination and labeling, women kept behind-the-scenes, then the slow blending and adapting. It's a story of my ancestors . . . and yours. Come with me to visit our ancestors . . .

379 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2018

Reviews

[Bee Bloeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not typically interested in genealogy of my own ancestors, let alone someone else's. If that's you, you may be surprised by ML Forier's book, Tallak! immigrant. First, the immigrant part of the title is incredibly timely! So go ahead--pick it up. Do a quick flip-through. Hmm. Lots of wonderful old photos. And extensive use of maps and newspaper clippings. That's good. Authenticity without endless pages of dense text. That suited me, so I read one page. I read another, and another. The author is obviously a patient researcher who left no stone unturned in getting the facts for this multi-generational epic. But nothing boring here! Forier has the skill to use the facts to paint an engaging portrait of what she knows and what she speculates. She drew me into this family and kept me there. I hope she doesn't stop with one book.

[Lee Shainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

No doubt, ML Forier is a patient and thorough researcher, but to then be able to turn a multi-generational family history into an engaging read is the work of a skilled and thoughtful writer. Tallak is so much more than the story of one family's journey from Norway to America; It's a glimpse into the human spirit that has shaped our collective history. An impressive and captivating work indeed!

[Claire]

Cool to read about one of my ancestors.