The Irish Goodbye

Beth Ann Fennelly's writing flickers and shimmers like minnows just below the water's surface--quick, sharp, and radiantly alive. Each of these pieces is a marvel of compression and care, where humor sidles up next to heartbreak, and ordinary moments are cast in an enticing, golden light. . . . This book is such a great catch, such a bounty!--Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of Bite by Bite Every word in these essays--whether open-armed and loving, brokenhearted and howling, or winking with wit--is perfectly chosen and perfectly placed. . . . This book faces what it means to say goodbye, but it is also absolutely alight with life.--Margaret Renkl, author of The Comfort of Crows What a terrific writer! In language as much poetry as prose, and spectacular poetry at that, Beth Ann Fennelly captures the usually overlooked moments of our lives.--Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried In these glittering little memoirs, Beth Ann Fennelly removes one protective garment after another until she exposes the poetry beneath life's troubles and pleasures. . . . If The Irish Goodbye is a naked self-portrait, then let us all be naked.--Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of The Waters The Irish Goodbye is a marvelous, masterful book of micro-memoirs that add up to a life full of humor, friendship, motherhood, joy, grief, and love. . . . Beth Ann Fennelly dazzles us with her observations and brevity, her beautiful prose, her enormous heart.--Ann Hood, author of The Stolen Child This book knocked me sideways. I tore through it in a day and I'm still trying to catch my breath. . . . I've long been a fan of Beth Ann Fennelly's work, but The Irish Goodbye is her best book yet.--Jamie Quatro, author of Two-Step Devil