Emergency coronary bypass surgery in 2008 provided the motivation for ThomasDelaney to write the story of his family. This memoir follows Thomas' story fromgrowing up on a small dairy farm on East Line Road in the "1000 Islands" regionof upstate New York in the 1940s to his retirement from general surgery privatepractice in a small Ohio city. Along the way, he includes stories of his ancestors.

Detailed descriptions of life on a dairy farm, from care of the cows to nightslistening to the Philco radio, bring the 1940s to life for a modern audience used to modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and refrigeration. His experiences while in medical school - and his early years of practice - provide a fascinating read. The author, the oldest of six, also scatters interesting family tidbits into the memoir. For instance, although each generation had at least one child named Thomas Delany, all died prematurely, except for him. Historic photos sprinkled liberally throughout the book further serve to bring this family history to life.

The author's longtime interest in family history, inspired by his great aunt and an uncle, led to hours of genealogical research. When Thomas learned nobody in his family had left behind diaries or personal writings, he decided to document what he discovered through talking with older family members and his own memories. This personal history is intended as a small contribution to that legacy.



Thomas Delaney, a retired general surgeon, grew up on a small dairy farm, nearClayton, N.Y., on the St. Lawrence River in an area best known as the "1000Islands." He graduated from Cornell University and the University of RochesterSchool of Medicine, completing his surgical residency at the University ofCincinnati. He served in the Navy at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Millington, Tenn., and served with the Marines in Vietnam. Delaney entered private practice as a general surgeon in Springfield, Ohio, after finishing his residency and remained there until he retired in 1992. He and his wife, Ishabel, had four children and retired to Boulder, Colo. Ishabel died in 2002. He met Judy, his current partner, while birdwatching in Nova Scotia. They live near San Francisco in Danville, Calif.