As the Twig is Bent

Michael Connolly’s newest memoir As the Twig is Bent focuses on a young Coley Folan as he comes of age in Portland, Maine in the mid-late 1900s.

A boy evolves to a man. What shapes him, nurtures him, supports and challenges him? Over the decades from his deep ancestral roots along the rugged West Coast of Ireland to his own beautiful home port in coastal Maine, the shaping of the boy emerges as he grows and changes. Grandparents he never knew, loving parents he knew every day; family, friends, classmates, mentors and fellow travelers — all provide love, guidance, challenge and support.

Young Coley Folan evolves, gaining insight, purpose, wisdom and humor; all of these he passes on to those he cares about. Share this journey with Coley as he explores and traverses this landscape where the confluence of nature and nurture pave the way for him to an inevitable vocation as a teacher and a scholar.

“Connolly’s characters and experiences are full of vigor and wry humor, while the occasional missteps always seem to resolve themselves with a happy ending — and another life lesson learned. Coley Folan and his family, like so many other immigrants, then and now, understood the power of education and assimilation — and that experience is often the best teacher.”
— Rusty and Sue Atwood, Former Maine Historical Society Trustee, and retired educators in Gorham, Maine

“Rich with humor, heart, and hard-earned wisdom, this is a coming-of-age memoir for anyone who has ever searched for where they truly belong. Connolly’s odyssey is a mirror of a generation longing to find its place in a shifting world.”
— Jean Haney, Entrepreneur and Maine Irish Heritage Center volunteer extraordinaire

“As the ‘new’ Portland, Maine, is quickly replacing the old, Connolly reminds us of the best of what the gritty, yet graceful ‘old’ neighborhoods of the ‘Forest City’ offered for those lucky enough to have called them home.”
— Dr. Mark Hibben, Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine