Frank McCourt’s world — as I experienced it

EVEN though we were poor at the lowest economic level — even below the lowest economic level — we were always excited because we were rich in the sense that we had a lot to look up to, to look forward to, a lot to aspire to, a lot to dream about.

But in purely economic terms, things were desperate. It was Calcutta with rain. At least they’re warm in Calcutta.

Things were really desperate because of certain things — like my father being an alcoholic, my mother having too many babies in too short a time, no work available in Ireland, and even when my father did get a job he drank the wages.