The Love of One’s Country by Brian Brennan

Jerry is emigrating from Ireland to Canada because he hates his office job and wants to find a more fulfilling career.

He’s also on a mission to discover what happened to his ancestor Diarmuid, who left Ireland during the potato famines of the 1840s only to disappear without trace.

After a frustrating stint as a touring musician, Jerry finds his calling in Canada as a newspaper journalist. But the mystery of his ancestor remains unsolved. Then just as Jerry is beginning to cope with a crisis in his own life, he comes across a diary that Diarmuid kept during his escape from Ireland on an overcrowded and disease-infested famine ship. Will this journal give Jerry the answers he seeks?

The Love of One’s Country is a captivating historical novel running on two tracks that ultimately converge in a way that will surprise and enlighten you.