'A remarkable memoir, poignant, truthful, imparting that quiet wisdom which suffering brings.'
-- Edna O'Brien
'An extraordinary memoir, beautifully written.'
-- Roddy Doyle
'A beautiful exploration of human loneliness and happiness, of contentment and longing.'
* Washington Post *
'[An] astonishing book ... a classic of Irish autobiography.'
-- Colm Toibin * Times Literary Supplement *
'A rich, fierce memoir.'
* The New Yorker *
'You don't want the book to end: it glows with compassion and you want more, more.'
-- Frank McCourt
'This book has to be read.'
* The New York Times *
'It still has the power to astonish.'
* Backlisted.fm *
'It's a powerhouse of a read, and you come away from it feeling as if you really got to know the lonely, flawed and hugely intelligent and brave woman who wrote it.'
* Reading Matters *
'[It] may be the truest memoir I have ever read. There was no detailed spared in the retelling of her life. The good, and frankly quite a lot of bad, were written in the pages giving the reader a true look into the life of Nuala and many other women growing up in Ireland in this time period.'
-- Rachel Keane * What Is That Book About? *