{"title":"Irish Biography","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"ok-let-s-do-your-stupid-idea-by-patrick-freyne","title":"Ok, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea by Patrick Freyne","description":"\u003cp\u003ePatrick Freyne has tried a lot of stupid ideas in his life. Now, in his scintillating debut, he is here to tell you about them: like the time (aged 5) he opened a gate and let a horse out of its field, just to see what would happen; or the time (aged 19) he jumped out of a plane for charity, even though he didn't much care about the charity and was sure he'd end up dead; or the time (aged old enough to know better) he used a magazine as a funnel for fuel when the petrol cap on his band's van broke.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe has also learned a few things: about the power of group song; about the beauty of physically caring for another human being; about childlessness; about losing friends far too young. Life as seen through the eyes of Patrick Freyne is stranger, funnier and a lot more interesting than life as we generally know it. Like David Sedaris or Nora Ephron, he creates an environment all his own - fundamentally comic, sometimes moving, always deeply humane. \u003ci\u003eOK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea\u003c\/i\u003e is a joyous reading experience from an instantly essential new writer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32236992954451,"sku":"","price":11.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/ok.jpg?v=1617707868"},{"product_id":"here-s-the-story-by-mary-mcaleese","title":"Here’s the Story by Mary McAleese","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen a young Mary McAleese told a priest that she planned to become a lawyer, the priest dismissed the idea: she knew no one in the law, and she was female. The reality of what she went on to achieve – despite those obstacles, and despite a sectarian attack that forced her family to flee their home – is even more improbable. In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe writes of her encounters with prime ministers, popes and royalty with the same easy candour and intimacy with which she describes her childhood. And her account of the latest act in her remarkable career – quietly pursuing a doctorate, and loudly opposing the misogyny of the Catholic Church – is inspiring. Here’s the Story is warm, witty, often surprising and relentlessly fascinating: an extraordinarily intimate memoir by one of the most remarkable public figures of our time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32275529334867,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/image_d31259e2-537f-4f81-8a70-c70e33c780b4.jpg?v=1602697652"},{"product_id":"after-the-wake-by-brendan-behan","title":"After the Wake by Brendan Behan","description":"\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBrendan Behan's genius was to strike a chord between critic and common man. When he died, at the age of 41, he was arguably the most celebrated Irish writer of the twentieth century. After the Wake is a collection of seven prose works and a series of articles.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt includes all that exists of an unfinished novel, 'The Catacombs', and pieces together items whose comic and fanciful accounts evoke Flann O'Brien. Also featured are works of acknowledged excellence, 'The Confirmation Suit' and 'A Woman of No Standing'. This writing bears all the hallmarks of the author's talent - an ability to bring characters to life quickly and unforgettably, a sharp ear for dialogue and dialect, and a natural vocation for story-telling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis diverse collection is a delightful and entertaining windfall from one of Ireland's most colourful writers. An essential complement to Behan's master works.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32384589070419,"sku":"","price":12.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/afterthewake.jpg?v=1611938125"},{"product_id":"borstal-boy-by-brendan-behan","title":"Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e'I have him bitched, balloxed and bewildered, for there's a system and a science in taking the piss out of a screw and I'm a well-trained man at it.'\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSo writes Brendan Behan, poet, writer and literary legend, of the episode that coloured his life. Arrested in Liverpool as an agitator for the IRA, he was tried and sent to reform school. He was sixteen years old.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe world he entered was brutal and coldly indifferent. Conditions were primitive, and violence simmered just below the surface. Yet Brendan Behan found something more positive than hate in Borstal: friendship, solidarity and healing flashes of kindness.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eExtraordinarily vivid, fluent, and moving, this is a superb and unforgettable piece of writing. Borstal Boy was adapted into a film in 2000.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32384594280531,"sku":"","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/borstalboy.jpg?v=1611938307"},{"product_id":"confessions-of-an-irish-rebel-by-brendan-behan","title":"Confessions of an Irish Rebel by Brendan Behan","description":"\u003cem\u003eThe immigration man read my deportation order, looked at it and handed it back to me. 'Are you Irish?' he asked me. 'No' I said 'as a matter of fact, I'm Yemenite Arab.' Two detectives came forward who were evidently there to meet me.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Apparently he is Brendan Behan,' they said. The immigration officer shook my hand and his hard face softened. 'Cead mile failte romhat abhaile.' (A hundred thousand welcomes home to you.) I could not answer.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThere are no words and it would be impertinence to try. I walked down the gangway. I was free.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFirst published after Brendan Behan's tragic death, Confessions of an Irish Rebel picks up where Borstal Boy left off. 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They're too preoccupied with the obsessions of every teenage girl - booze, boys and Boyzone - to worry about the violence on their doorstep.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDesperate to leave Northern Ireland and the trials of her mother's unorthodox family - a loving yet eccentric band of misfits - behind, she makes grand plans for the next stage. But it's through these relationships and their gradual unravelling that Alix begins to appreciate not only the troubled history of where she comes from, but the strength of its women. 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A strikingly vivid and starkly emotional memoir, Are You Somebody? is, like O'Faolain herself, a singular example of courage, honesty, and bold living. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39413566308435,"sku":"","price":10.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/somebody.jpg?v=1627642445"},{"product_id":"unsettled-by-rosaleen-mcdonagh","title":"Unsettled by Rosaleen McDonagh","description":"\u003cp\u003eRosaleen McDonagh writes fearlessly about a diverse experience of being Irish. \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eUnsettled\u003c\/em\u003e explores racism, ableism, abuse and resistance as well as the bonds of community, family and friendship. 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Born to working-class parents and the eldest of six children, he harboured a childhood desire to become a priest.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e When he was eleven years old, Byrne found himself crossing the Irish Sea to join a seminary in England. Four years later, Byrne had been expelled and he quickly returned to his native city. There he took odd jobs as a messenger boy and a factory labourer to get by.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e In his spare time he visited the cinema, where he could be alone and yet part of a crowd. It was here that he could begin to imagine a life beyond the grey world of '60s Ireland. He revelled in the theatre and poetry of Dublin's streets, populated by characters as eccentric and remarkable as any in fiction, those who spin a yarn with acuity and wit.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e It was a friend who suggested Byrne join an amateur drama group, a decision that would change his life forever and launch him on an extraordinary forty-year career in film and theatre. Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway, Byrne also courageously recounts his battle with addiction and the ambivalence of fame. Walking with Ghosts is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking as well as a lyrical homage to the people and landscapes that ultimately shape our destinies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39458380087379,"sku":"","price":13.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/walking.jpg?v=1632227456"},{"product_id":"comrades-a-lifetime-of-friendships-by-rosita-boland-hardback","title":"Comrades : A Lifetime of Friendships by Rosita Boland","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'I was fascinated, moved and entertained by every page. This is the kind of book the world needs right now' DONAL RYAN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy dictionary's first two definitions of 'comrade' are: A close companion. An intimate associate or friend. The third one is: A fellow soldier. My friends have been all those things to me.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'In this stunning essay collection, award-winning journalist Rosita Boland explores the many friendships that have shaped her life. Surprising and beautiful, she writes about the imaginary friends of early childhood, books that have provided companionship and joy, kindred spirits met while travelling, the friend she hoped might become something more, and also the friendships that become lost over time.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Life-affirming, affecting and wise, Comrades is a powerful exploration of what it is to live, to connect, and to be human in this world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A moving, beautiful and deeply felt meditation on friendship, loyalty and connectedness in a disconnected world' HILARY FANNIN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39475433701459,"sku":"","price":12.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/comrades.jpg?v=1633428984"},{"product_id":"tell-everyone-on-this-train-i-love-them-by-maeve-higgins","title":"Tell Everyone On This Train I Love Them by Maeve Higgins","description":"\u003csection class=\"overview\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDeeply funny, moving, and urgent writing about a country that can feel broken into pieces and the light that shines through the cracks, from Irish comedian Maeve Higgins, author of \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMaeve in America\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e  \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e As an eternally curious outsider, Maeve Higgins can see that the United States is still an experiment. Some parts work well and others \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ereally\u003c\/em\u003e don’t, but that doesn’t stop her from loving the place and the people that make it. With piercing political commentary in a sweet and salty tone, these essays unearth answers to the questions we all have about this country we call home; the beauty of it all and the dark parts too. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e  \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Maeve attends the 2020 Border Security Expo to better understand the future of our borders, and finds herself at The Alamo surrounded by queso and homemade rifles. A chance encounter with a statue of a teenage horseback rider causes her to interrogate the purpose of monuments, this sends her hurtling through the past, connecting Ireland’s revolutionary history with the struggles of Black Americans today. And after mistaking edibles for innocent candies, Maeve gets way too high at Paper Source.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e  \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Most of all, Maeve wants to leave this country and this planet better than she found it. That may well be impossible, but it certainly means showing love. Lots of it, even when it’s difficult to do so. Threaded through these pieces is love for strangers, love for friends who show up right on time, love for trees, love for Tom Hardy, love for those with differing opinions, love for the glamorous older women of Brighton Beach with tattooed eyeliner and gold jewelry, love for everybody on this train.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"more-link-wrap opened\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39736220549203,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/9780143135869.jpg?v=1644842154"},{"product_id":"rememberings-by-sinead-oconnor-1","title":"Rememberings by Sinead O'Connor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE LANDMARK MEMOIR OF A GLOBAL MUSIC ICON\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSinead O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the age of twenty-one. Her recording of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e O'Connor was unapologetic and impossible to ignore, calling out hypocrisy wherever she saw it. She has remained that way for three decades. Now, in Rememberings, O'Connor tells her story - the heartache of growing up in a family falling apart; her early forays into the Dublin music scene; her adventures and misadventures in the world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll; the fulfilment of being a mother; her ongoing spiritual quest - and through it all, her abiding passion for music.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Rememberings is intimate, replete with candid anecdotes and full of hard-won insights. It is a unique and remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Inspiring, liberating, hilarious and fascinating' Irish Times\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Beautifully observed ... lyrical, funny and anguished' Guardian\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Her voice on the page is as fearless, riveting and unforgettable as her voice in song. The cadence alone is hypnotic, her story essential. Rememberings is a must-read' Michael Stipe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'So good, you'll want to read it twice' Sunday Independent\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A soul-bearing, brutally honest account of an extraordinary life' BBC Online\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Tremendous . . . fierce and funny' Sunday Times Books of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39773890248787,"sku":"","price":13.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/9781844885428.jpg?v=1646672449"},{"product_id":"almost-there-the-onwards-journey-of-a-dublin-woman-by-nuala-ofaoilain","title":"Almost There: The Onwards Journey of a Dublin Woman by Nuala O'Faoilain","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\" id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1652973677466_11386\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"sqs-block-content\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eNuala O’Faolain’s first memoir \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newisland.ie\/nonfiction\/somebody-anniversary-edition\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-tabindex=\"0\" data-mce-href=\"https:\/\/www.newisland.ie\/nonfiction\/somebody-anniversary-edition\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAre You Somebody?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e became a literary sensation and an international bestseller when it was 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAlmost There\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eNuala O’Faolain’s final memoir, \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAlmost There\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40212483244115,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/9781848408678.jpg?v=1661430198"},{"product_id":"angelas-ashes-by-frank-mccourt","title":"Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt","description":"\u003cp\u003eStunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s. It is a story of extreme hardship and suffering, in Brooklyn tenements and Limerick slums - too many children, too little money, his mother Angela barely coping as his father Malachy's drinking bouts constantly brings the family to the brink of disaster. It is a story of courage and survival against apparently overwhelming odds.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWritten with the vitality and resonance of a work of fiction, and with a remarkable absence of sentimentality, 'Angela's Ashes' is imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's distinctive humour and compassion. Out of terrible circumstances, he has created a glorious book in the tradition of Ireland's literary masters, which bears all the marks of a great classic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40421285494867,"sku":"","price":13.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/9780007205233.jpg?v=1668691400"},{"product_id":"lonely-boy-musings-on-death-mental-health-and-relationships-by-daragh-fleming","title":"Lonely Boy: Musings on Death, Mental Health and Relationships by Daragh Fleming","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tabContent\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDaragh Fleming’s honest portrayal of mental health, wellbeing and recovery opens with a quote from Seneca, Moral Letters that states: ‘I will keep constant watch over myself.’ Throughout Fleming’s ‘Lonely Boy’, loss, friendship and death are at the forefront, and they are observed with a quiet awareness. It is at times a memoir, at times a guide, but it is always conscious of what it is doing. Fleming, as in life, is keeping a constant watch over his writing and the effect of his words.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFleming’s writing is simple, direct, and incredibly honest. There is a vulnerability to the topics that he deals with, and he does not try to hide from it. Lonely Boy deals with the tragic suicide of a best friend, crippling panic attacks, what it is to be a man and what is expected of dangerous paradigms, the benefits of therapy, among many other pertinent discussions that should happen much more frequently. The writing is intimate and vernacular, so you feel that you might just be in a bar with Daragh where the conversation is flowing easily. By writing this book, in this way, Fleming reveals how these conversations in our society do not flow as easily or as frequently as they should.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAt the heart of Lonely Boy is a man trying to be at peace with himself and his past, so that he can navigate his future. By doing this, he opens up about his struggles with mental health and what has worked for him. He is at no point condescending or preachy, but instead welcoming and helpful. He admits that he does not have the answers but by sharing his story with us helps us understand the questions. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with mental health, to any man who does not feel like he fits in, and to anyone who is open to reflection and growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40476042985555,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/products\/lonelyboy.jpg?v=1672745636"},{"product_id":"i-dont-want-to-talk-about-home-a-migrants-search-for-belonging-by-suad-aldarra","title":"I Don't Want to Talk About Home : A migrant's search for belonging by Suad Aldarra","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'I carry my troubled homeland within me; I hide it like a crime.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrowing up in conservative Saudi Arabia, Suad Aldarra felt stifled by the strictures placed on women.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e She yearned for the vibrant Syrian streets of her family's origin. When the opportunity arose to study at Damascus University, she jumped at the chance to move to a city she loved and to experience a degree of freedom she'd never known. But when the war started, everything changed.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Suddenly Suad was thrown into a world of relentless pressure desperately looking for a way out. Her degree in software engineering was the saving grace that allowed her to travel to Ireland on a working visa. Yet reaching safety came at a price ...\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e I Don't Want to Talk About Home is not a memoir about war and destruction. It's not about camps or boats. It's about the enduring love for a home that ceased to exist, building a life out of the rubble, and the parts of yourself you lose and find when integrating into a new world.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eIlluminating, vivid, and insightful, this is such a timely book. LOUISE O'NEILL, author of Idol\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFull of heart, honesty and hard-learnt wisdom... a captivating journey across continents, history and culture. I literally couldn't put this book down. 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But the seasons still turned, the swallows came at their allotted time, the rhythms of the natural world went on unchecked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For Kerri there was to be one more change, a longed-for but unhoped for change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCacophony of Bone\u003c\/i\u003e maps the circle of a year - a journey from one place to another, field notes of a life - from one winter to the next. It is a telling of a changed life, in a changed world - and it is about all that does not change. All that which simply keeps on - living and breathing, nesting and dying - in spite of it all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When the pandemic came time seemed to shapeshift, so this is also a book about time. It is, too, a book about home, and what that can mean. 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Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Deeply moving and thought-provoking' Louise O'Neill'Fearless, funny and searingly honest' Adil Ray OBE'A book that can change society' Lynn Ruane'Poor shows the strength of Katriona O'Sullivan's unbreakable spirit - she is a beacon of light' Patricia Scanla\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winding Stair Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46744311005532,"sku":"","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0272\/0691\/0035\/files\/9781844886210.jpg?v=1685543392"},{"product_id":"i-who-had-it-figured-out-a-social-work-memoir-by-patrick-odea","title":"I, Who Had It Figured Out: A Social Work Memoir by Patrick O'Dea","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePatrick O’Dea’s reflections on his path, should be required reading for aspiring young social workers.” - \u003c\/span\u003eDame Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, 2016–2022\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“An endless retelling of the story of a garden, a fall and a restoration.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt’s the story of the Bible, Dante and Marx.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhat shaped this curious boy into a “Utopian”? 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