That’s That: A Memoir

Summary

A brutally honestand deeply affecting memoir about growing up in the countryside of rebelcountry in Northern Ireland

Colin Broderick was born in 1968 and spent his childhood inTyrone County in Northern Ireland. It was the beginning of the period ofheightened tension and violence known as the Troubles, and Colin’s Catholicfamily lived in the heart of rebel country. The community was filled withProvisional IRA members, whose lives depended on the silence and complicity oftheir neighbors. At times, that made for a confusing childhood. We watch as heand his brothers play ball with the neighbor children over a fence for yearsbut are never allowed to play together because it is forbidden. We see himstruggle to understand why young men from his community often just disappear. Wefeel his confusion when he is held at gunpoint at various military checkpointsin the North. But even when Colin does ask his parents about these events, henever receives a clear explanation. Desperate to protect her children, Colin’smother tries to prevent exposure to or knowledge of the harm that surroundsthem. Spoken with stern finality, “That’s that” became the refrain of Colin’schildhood.

The first book to paint a detailed depiction ofNorthern Ireland’s Troubles, That’s That is presented against a personal backdrop and toldin the wry, memorable voice of a man who has finally come to terms with his past.