Nuala O'Faolain

"You don't want the book to end; it glows with compassion and you want more, more because you know this is a fine wine of a life, richer as it ages."--Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes One of nine children born into a penniless North Dublin family, Nuala O'Faolain was saved from a harrowing childhood by her love of books and reading. Though she ultimately became one of Ireland's best-known columnists, her professional success did little to ease her loneliness and longing for a deep connection to the world. Are You Somebody? distills her experiences into a wisdom that can only come from an obstinate refusal to shrink from life. This commemorative edition of her landmark memoir celebrates O'Faolain's remarkable life and work with a new foreword from Frank McCourt as well as additional archival materials. Strikingly vivid and starkly emotional, Are You Somebody? is, like O'Faolain herself, a singular example of courage, honesty, and bold living.

30th anniversary edition of the classic of Irish memoir, with a new foreword by bestselling author Katríona O'Sullivan. Discover the unforgettable voice that captivated readers worldwide. Are You Somebody? is a raw, honest, and deeply moving memoir that explores identity, love, and the search for meaning in a changing Ireland. Nuala O’Faolain shares her life with unflinching candour - her struggles, triumphs, and the questions that shaped her journey. This is more than a memoir; it’s a conversation about what it means to live fully, to question deeply, and to embrace vulnerability. Whether you’re drawn to stories of resilience, Irish culture or the universal quest for belonging, this book will stay with you long after the last page. Perfect for readers of memoir, Irish literature, and anyone who believes in the power of truth-telling.

Nuala O’Faolain’s first memoir Are You Somebody? became a literary sensation and an international bestseller when it was first published by New Island Books in 1996. It launched a new life for its author, at a time when she had long since let go of expectations that anything new could dislodge patterns of regret and solitude. A pioneering work of literary memoir, Almost There opens at that moment when O’Faolain’s life began to change. It tells the story of a life in subtle, radical, and unforeseen renewal. It is a tale of good fortune chasing out bad – of an accidental harvest of happiness. But it is also a provocative examination of one woman’s experience of the ‘crucible of middle age’ – a time of life that faces in two directions, that forges the shape of the years to come, and also clarifies and solidifies one’s relationships to friends and lovers, family and self. Nuala O’Faolain’s final memoir, Almost There chronicles the pursuit of artistic and personal integrity, and what it is to be a woman in contemporary society, with the signature style and raw candidness of her personal writing.

A special commemorative edition with an introduction by acclaimed author June Caldwell. Are You Somebody? is the incredibly candid story of Nuala O’Faolain, born one of nine children into the penniless family of an overwhelmed mother and charming but absent father. Nuala O’Faolain was saved from a harrowing childhood by her love of books and reading. Though she ultimately became one of Ireland’s best-known columnists, her professional success did little to ease her longing for a deep connection to the world. She pushed at the boundaries of the confining Catholic Ireland she grew up in and has distilled her experiences into a wisdom that could come only from a woman who refused to shrink from life. A runaway international best-seller, it was No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list. A strikingly vivid and starkly emotional memoir, Are You Somebody? is, like O’Faolain herself, a singular example of courage, honesty, and bold living.

A final novel from the beloved Irish writer, Nuala O'Faolain. Best Love, Rosie, she said, ..".is the book of my years of commuting between the melancholy of Ireland and the optimism of America." Like many a modern, well-travelled woman, Rosie has lived a fascinating life, full of adventure and the pleasure of many lovers in her younger years. Now, facing the challenges of middle-age, she finds the things that defined her most --- work, love, independence --- begin to fail her. She comes home to Ireland to care for her elderly aunt Min, trapped by circumstances in sleepy Dublin. But when an opportunity arises to visit New York again, the story takes an unexpected turn... Published to rave reviews last fall in France, Best Love, Rosie became an instant bestseller in Ireland, where it was published in May 2009 to mark the first anniversary of Nuala's death. This posthumous novel is bittersweet, giving us one last look through those fierce eyes at aging, death, relationships and, as always, love.

Having lived abroad for many years, Rosie decides that it's time to return to Dublin to look after her ageing aunt Min. Nothing much has changed in the area where Rosie grew up, and Min's increasing lack of interest in life begins to sap Rosie's spirit. While flicking through some self-help books looking for ways to distract Min, Rosie gets the idea to write an inspirational book for the middle-aged. Since her only contact in the world of publishing is her friend Markey who lives in New York, Rosie decides to put Min in a temporary care home while she travels to the United States to seek Markey's advice.

Kathleen de Burca is a travel writer based in London. The office is the nearest thing she has to a home. When a quick series of blows strips away the props of her life, she is faced with the frightening imperative of change. In her crisis she decides to investigate a true story about a relationship so passionate that it burned its way across the barriers of class and culture — a scandalous affair between the wife of an English landlord and an Irish servant during the devastation of Ireland's potato famine. After an absence of thirty years, Kathleen returns to Ireland to research the story and begins a journey that leads her not only into the historical past, but into a reconsideration of the family she fled years ago. While back in Ireland, she meets a lover of her own who presents her with a choice that promises to alter the course of her life. As she moves toward her decision, she calls on the strengths of her identity as a woman, an Irish woman, and a woman who is no longer young. Meanwhile, she brings the story of the long-ago lovers to a denouement as tender as it is tragic. My Dream of You explores the extremes of passion, the depths of loneliness, and the resilience of the human heart. "Full of brilliant writing and heartbreaking insight . . . Unlike all but the best writers, O’Faolain isn’t afraid to write about a character as smart and complicated as she is."—Newsweek A 2001 New York Times Notable Book