Photo By Broom
Now Available On Amazon
Photo By Broom
In 1865 at the age of 14, Gregor Broom kissed his mother goodbye, and he joined the crew of a merchant ship leaving the docs of Oban, Scotland to escape his abusive father, Murray.
In 1925 Gregor’s grandson, Tommy Broom stepped off the train in Chiago at the age of five with his Da, Thomas Broom I, and set a course for his life that would change the dynamic of the Broom family’s future.
In 1965 Tome Wade Broom embarked on his journey of chronicling on film the worst the world had to offer.
Photo by Broom is an epic tale of a family’s 100-plus-year journey through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the prohibition era, and the later years of social, political, racial, and religious upheaval, much of it captured on film by Gregor’s great-grandson, award-winning photojournalist, Tom Wade Broom. It is a character-driven novel spanning the lives of Murray, Gregor, Thomas, Tommy, and Tom Wade Broom, each living a life far different from his father’s, yet each of whose plans for his and his family’s future were influenced by his predecessors.
Photo By Broom
Meet The Characters
Photo by Broom
Photo by Broom is the story of one family’s century-long journey through famine, war, depression, and social, political, racial, and religious violence. Meet Murray, Gregor, Thomas, Tommy, and Tom Wade Broom, each pursuing a life far different than his father’s, yet each of whose paths bore his father’s influence.
Echoes Of Yesterday
Murray Broom. A hard-drinking dockworker in 19th century Oban, Scotland, Murray is an abusive husband and father, who drove his wife, Kathleen, to walk the paths of the darkest depths of life and his son, Gregor, to abandon him.
Light After Darkness
Gregor Broom. Beaten and exploited by years of grueling physical child labor by his father, mentored at sea by a seasoned merchant marine, then beaten in a brutal bar fight, only to be nursed to recuperation by Lucy, a local barmaid determined to become his wife, Gregor was destined to sail with her to America – aboard the Titanic.
The New World
Thomas Broom. Focused on living his life according to a well-crafted plan, Thomas is tutored in adapting to life in the New World by his godfather, Sean Nolan. He is wounded in a naval action during The First World War, marries and then loses his beloved Lizzy to the Spanish Flu following childbirth, he must now face life facing the prospect of raising his son, Tommy, through his tender years entirely on his own.
The Call to Duty
Tommy Broom. Bright, focused, and disciplined, Tommy is given the opportunity while attending military school to participate in an experimental college program designed to fast-track him into a role in military intelligence. Within months of his induction into the Marines, Tommy is assigned to the Pacific Fleet and sails to Pearl Harbor, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Margie, whom he’s known since childhood.
Capturing History
Tom Wade Broom. Coming into adolescence during the changing times of the 1950s, Tom Wade’s tough-guy attitude and troubled temperament jeopardizes his future until, as a young teen, his penance for a bad decision puts him on a life-changing career path as a world-class photojournalist and delivers him in the middle of The Troubles to his grandfather’s Northern Ireland door.
Photo By Broom
Meet The Characters
Photo by Broom
Photo by Broom is the story of one family’s century-long journey through famine, war, depression, and social, political, racial, and religious violence. Meet Murray, Gregor, Thomas, Tommy, and Tom Wade Broom, each pursuing a life far different than his father’s, yet each of whose paths bore his father’s influence.
Echoes Of Yesterday
Murray Broom. A hard-drinking dockworker in 19th century Oban, Scotland, Murray is an abusive husband and father, who drove his wife, Kathleen, to walk the paths of the darkest depths of life and his son, Gregor, to abandon him.
Light After Darkness
Gregor Broom. Beaten and exploited by years of grueling physical child labor by his father, mentored at sea by a seasoned merchant marine, then beaten in a brutal bar fight, only to be nursed to recuperation by Lucy, a local barmaid determined to become his wife, Gregor was destined to sail with her to America – aboard the Titanic.
The New World
Thomas Broom. Focused on living his life according to a well-crafted plan, Thomas is tutored in adapting to life in the New World by his godfather, Sean Nolan. He is wounded in a naval action during The First World War, marries and then loses his beloved Lizzy to the Spanish Flu following childbirth, he must now face life facing the prospect of raising his son, Tommy, through his tender years entirely on his own.
The Call to Duty
Tommy Broom. Bright, focused, and disciplined, Tommy is given the opportunity while attending military school to participate in an experimental college program designed to fast-track him into a role in military intelligence. Within months of his induction into the Marines, Tommy is assigned to the Pacific Fleet and sails to Pearl Harbor, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Margie, whom he’s known since childhood.
Capturing History
Tom Wade Broom. Coming into adolescence during the changing times of the 1950s, Tom Wade’s tough-guy attitude and troubled temperament jeopardizes his future until, as a young teen, his penance for a bad decision puts him on a life-changing career path as a world-class photojournalist and delivers him in the middle of The Troubles to his grandfather’s Northern Ireland door.
Events that Impacted the Lives of the Brooms
Events that Impacted the Lives of the Brooms
- Photo by Broom: A Tale of Five Generations, each living, taking the risks necessary for survival in times of famine, war, depression, and disease and each pushing the boundaries of his own universe, a universe of X number of years of a unique series of events, to make a better life for his family.
- As the creator and chronicler of the Broom Family, it was critical that the individual events that molded each respective member of the family, Murray, Gregor, Thomas, Tommy, and Tom Wade, be depicted accurately and conveyed clearly. That is my obligation to my readers.
Child Deaths Escalate.
Maritime Winter Weather Warnings
Boer Wars
Homeland Rule Ruled Out
Titanic Sinks in North Atlantic.
World War I
U.S.S. Jacob Jones Sunk by U-Boat
Prohibition Amendment Passes
Spanish Flu Pandemic
Black Tuesday
Prohibition Repealed
Pearl Harbor Attacked
Eisenhauer Wins Second Term
Local Joyride Ends in Crash
Freedom Riders Bus Bombing
Look Magazine Photo Contest
Los Angeles Watts Riots
American Professional Journalism Award
Hearst Newspapers Go on Stike
Robert Kennedy Assassinated
Chicago Democratic Convention
The Troubles
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Goes Out of Print
Vietnam Prisoners of War Released
1858
Child Deaths Escalate.
Title
Sub Title
Title
Sub Title
Child Deaths Escalate
Maritime Winter Weather Warnings
Boer Wars
Homeland Rule Ruled Out
Titanic Sinks in North Atlantic
World War I
U.S.S. Jacob Jones Sunk by U-Boat
Prohibition Amendment Passes
Spanish Flu Pandemic
Black Tuesday
Prohibition Repealed
Pearl Harbor Attacked
Eisenhouwer Wins Second Term
Local Joy Ride Ends in Crash (Fiction)
Freedom Riders Bus Bombing
Look Magazine Student Photojournalist Awards
American Professional Journalism Award
Los Angeles Watts Riots
Hearst Newspapers go on strike
Robert Kennedy Assassinated
Chicago Democratic Convention
The Troubles
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Goes Out of Print
Vietnam Prisoners of War Released
