I Loved Him From The Day He Died

My Father, Forgiveness and a Final Pilgrimage

Michael Harding

$26.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Hachette Books Ireland
05 June 2025

Memoirs; Maturation & ageing

'Harding's prose style is fluid and fluent ... unflinching, merciless honesty' Sunday Independent

To mark his 70th birthday Michael Harding travelled to Spain to walk part of the Camino de Santiago. Yet, as he set off on his pilgrimage, he found he wasn't alone. Accompanying him was the ghost of his long-dead father, a distant and aloof figure whom he lost when he was only twenty-two years old.

Here, with searing honesty and beautifully wrought prose, Harding examines how this man, who had died almost half a century ago, could have had such a profound effect on the writer's life.

From the Ireland of his youth, to the time of his father's death, and to the holy wells and pubs he frequented in search of a connection with a man he never really knew, I Loved Him From The Day He Died is a heartfelt examination of love, forgiveness and letting go - told with simple vulnerability and profound insight.

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL HARDING'S BOOKS

'Hilarious and tender ... beautifully written' Kevin Barry

'A beautiful book of great tenderness, love of life, and wisdom' Joseph O'Connor

'Compelling' Sunday Times

By: Michael Harding
Imprint: Hachette Books Ireland
Country of Publication: Ireland
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
Weight: 41g
ISBN: 9781529379242
ISBN 10: 1529379245
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 05 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Michael Harding is an author and playwright. A recipient of the Stewart Parker Award for theatre, a Hennessy Award for Short Stories and a Bank of Ireland/RTE award for Excellence in the Arts in 1990, he has written numerous plays for the Abbey Theatre and was writer in association with the National Theatre in 1993. His novels include Bird in the Snow, The Trouble with Sarah Gullion and Priest. He is also the author of several bestselling memoirs including Staring at Lakes (winner of the Bord Gais Energy Book of the Year award), Hanging with the Elephant, Talking to Strangers, On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist, Chest Pain and What is Beautiful in the Sky. He is a member of Aosdana, a columnist for over fifteen years with The Irish Times and his podcasts are available on the Patreon platform.

Reviews for I Loved Him From The Day He Died: My Father, Forgiveness and a Final Pilgrimage

Harding's prose style is fluid and fluent, like running water, simultaneously airy and earthy ... unflinching, merciless honesty * Sunday Independent *