Noelle McCarthy

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Grand

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief . . . compelling and nuanced

Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane. All of life is in it. I utterly adored it

Grand hooked me like a fish . . . a tale of recovery and growth [and] deep, deep love

Exquisitely written . . . profoundly moving. And like all great memoirs it is hilarious in parts. If, like me, you love the personal essays of Sinéad Gleeson and Emilie Pine, you'll adore this

A really vivacious account of frayed family relationships across decades and around the world

Remarkably funny, honest and often sad . . . there's a whole pile of un-maudlin heart and a whole lot of love here

A searingly honest memoir, as close to the bone as it is to the heart

I loved it! The writing is stunning. Noelle McCarthy has an incredible knack for sharing the darkest of memories with a lightness of touch. You won't want to put this book down, but once you do, every gorgeous word will haunt you. Beautiful and compelling

A fierce and sometimes hilarious reflection on the maddening endurance of love between mother and daughter. McCarthy's prose sparkles in the darkness of addiction, shame, and inherited trauma. I devoured this book

Grand is a love story and occasionally a hate story too. A vital, unexpected love letter to family, flaws, and the fact that none of us is perfect. McCarthy writes to remind us that sometimes you have to pull at the threads, perhaps unravel completely, to find your way back to a life a little less undone

An eloquent exploration of generational trauma told with immense wit and candour. Compellingly readable

A rich, unsettling read - a bit like jumping on a moving train as it speeds through shifting landscapes. Enthralling, unnerving and above all, honest

I really loved this book . . . beautifully endearing and candid

Humane and wryly funny . . . so readable, relatable and ultimately uplifting

Already acclaimed in New Zealand, it doesn't hold back any punches in describing a difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother (and is insightful about the restraints imposed on an intelligent woman of her mother's generation living in conservative, Catholic Ireland.)

Terrific energy . . . sparkling and evocative

Becoming My Mother’s Daughter

'I'll be grand, girl, I've great faith.' - Mammy, just before she dies 
 
Funny, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pubs all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and everything she's lost. 
 
As soon as she can, in the early years of the millennium, Noelle runs away. All the way to New Zealand. Yet, the demons of the past give chase and Noelle seems fated to throw away her future, just like her mother. Somehow she gets out of the hole and makes a new life. But then Carol gets sick, and finally it's time to face the past and everything that's waiting back home in Cork. 
 
Grand is sharp, funny, tender and deeply moving - a dazzlingly honest memoir about becoming a modern woman.

Brought to you by Penguin. 
 
Quick-witted, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pubs all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and everything she's lost. 
 
As soon as she can, in the early years of the millennium, Noelle runs away. All the way to New Zealand. Yet, the demons of the past give chase and Noelle seems fated to throw away her future, just like her mother. Somehow, she gets out of the hole and makes a new life. But then Carol gets sick, and finally it's time to face the past and everything that's waiting back home. 
 
Grand is a dazzlingly honest memoir about becoming a modern woman. 
 
'Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane. All of life is in it' Meg Mason 
 
©2023 Noelle McCarthy (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Grand

Becoming My Mother’s Daughter

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A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief . . . compelling and nuanced

Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane. All of life is in it. I utterly adored it

Grand hooked me like a fish . . . a tale of recovery and growth [and] deep, deep love

Exquisitely written . . . profoundly moving. And like all great memoirs it is hilarious in parts. If, like me, you love the personal essays of Sinéad Gleeson and Emilie Pine, you'll adore this

A really vivacious account of frayed family relationships across decades and around the world

Remarkably funny, honest and often sad . . . there's a whole pile of un-maudlin heart and a whole lot of love here

A searingly honest memoir, as close to the bone as it is to the heart

Deeply moving and surprisingly funny

I loved it! The writing is stunning. Noelle McCarthy has an incredible knack for sharing the darkest of memories with a lightness of touch. You won't want to put this book down, but once you do, every gorgeous word will haunt you. Beautiful and compelling

Savagely brilliant

About Noelle McCarthy

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