Photo By Broom
A Tale of Five Generations by Hal T. Horowitz
Meet The Characters
Photo by Broom is the story of the Broom family’s journey through famine, two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the later years of social, political, racial, and religious upheaval. Meet Murray, Gregor, Thomas, Tommy, and Tom Wade Broom, each pursuing a life far different from his father’s, yet each of whose paths were influenced by those of their ancestors.
Murray Broom. A hard-drinking dockworker in 19th century Scotland, Murray is a mentally and physically 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.
Gregor Broom. Exploited for years of grueling physical child labor by his father, mentored at sea by a seasoned merchant marine, and nursed to recuperation from a brutal beating by a local barmaid, Lucy, determined to become his wife, Gregor was destined to sail with her to America – aboard the Titanic.
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 naval action during The Great War and losing his beloved Lizzy to the Spanish Flu he must now face life facing the prospect of raising his son, Tommy, through his tender years entirely on his own, until he meets a new neighbor, Bea Frank.
Tommy Broom. Bright, focused, and disciplined, Tommy is given the opportunity while attending a military high 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 widow, Margie, Bea Frank’s daughter whom he’s known since childhood.
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 at his great-grandfather’s Northern Ireland door.