From Simon & Schuster, The Island of the White Cow: Memories of an Irish Island is Deborah Tall's experiences while living on an island off the coast of Ireland and portrays the way of life of the islanders. The author, a poet and teacher of creative writing, lived on a rugged and sparsely inhabited island off the west coast of Ireland for five years, from 1972 to 1977. The Island of the White Cow: Memories of an Irish Island is the moving account of her experiences there.