- Published: 18 February 2021
- ISBN: 9781473579682
- Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
- Format: Audio Download
Before My Actual Heart Breaks
- Published: 18 February 2021
- ISBN: 9781473579682
- Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
- Format: Audio Download
This hard-hitting book sets one woman's struggle with the hand dealt to her against the backdrop of the Northern Irish Troubles. This powerful debut examines the bonds of hate - and love - in a story of one family.
The List
This is in many ways a familiar story but it is told in such a fresh, entertaining, funny and moving way, it felt like I was reading something brand new.
Roddy Doyle
Delaney's writing is a beautiful wave flowing lyrically through the life of Mary Rattigan. A touching tale of how one woman survives a tough beginning to eventually end up exactly where her heart belongs.
Anne Griffin author of WHEN ALL IS SAID
I did not expect this debut to turn into the most exquisite love story, but it did, and I was besotted.
Red
Mary is an eloquent narrator, conveying her and her husband's pain with exquisite and moving precision. The loneliness, grief and long-lasting repercussions of trauma are achingly real. The graphically described Troubles provide a powerful backdrop to this arresting and moving novel.
Daily Mail
Tish Delaney's writing is engaging and she has a strong eye for character and dialogue . . . Mary's story of finding love in the most unlikely of circumstances will draw readers in and you'd need a heart of stone not to be moved by the ending.
Daily Express
[T]here is much to admire about this debut, from the energetic voice to the way the Troubles are knitted through the timeline.
Irish Times
A really lovely book. I loved reading it.
Mariella Frostrup
Gorgeous prose . . . my heart broke several times . . . Mary's voice is so raw.
Good Housekeeping
Two pages into this book you know you've unlocked something special . . . the book is brightened up plenty by sunshine characters and the magnificence of Tyrone nature . . . Tish knows what she's talking about.
Irish Examiner
Fresh, raw and frequently funny. Her descriptions of the landscape are elegiac, and her ear for dialogue is flawless. Her exploration of loneliness, regret, and the deep repurcussions of trauma is exquisite. Above all, she writes poignantly of the human condition, creating an eloquent narrator who will live long in the reader's memory
Church Times