My guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat”
called into the show from Cape Town, South Africa, though her life and indeed much
of her writing relates to Ireland. Mary Monaghan was actually born in England
of Irish parents; her family was much traveled, something that has seen Mary
continue along with her love of languages.
In 1993 Mary was living in what South
Africa in what she thought was a happy marriage her husband announced he was
going for a backpacking trip to Australia for three months. That was the last
she saw of him, well not exactly the last, but the last for 14 years.
This led too much bitterness,
heartbreak and tears as Mary tried to get her life into some form of order. Her
book “Remember Me?” originally for written for close family and friends became
an almost overnight success and is now sheared with many, and is even optioned
for a screen play.
About Remember Me?
When your husband
vanishes without a trace, there’s no telling what you might do. Mary wrote a
book. Remember Me? This book became a self-publishing
success story, selling widely in both Ireland and South Africa.
She had wanted to share my story of how she had
managed to survive and rebuild my life. Her marriage had been a happy one,
envied by our friends. As with any marriage it had its ups and downs but
on the whole life was good. Until one day her husband John announced he
was leaving for a three month backpacking trip to Australia.
He left in 1993 never to return. Mary undertook a
desperate struggle to locate the man she loved, finding out along the way of
his involvement with at least two other women before he walked out on their
marriage. She asked Interpol and private investigators to help me locate him
with no success, eventually finding him herself and speaking to him on the phone
six years after he had walked out on their marriage.
This however was not the end of the story as while
visiting Ireland on a book tour she caught site of the man who has left her
those many years before. FOURTEEN years, hours of crying and one book after her husband
walked out on her, Mary Monaghan never expected to see him again. Yet there he
was also visiting his family in Ireland.
What happened next can be found in Mary’s second book “Who Do You
Belong To?”
A Mary herself says about this second book
The launch of Remember
Me? set in motion a
whole new chapter of my life. Even though it has taken many years I have
finally let this man go and Who
Do You Belong To? continues
the story of my journey . I had put John out of my mind, he no longer had
a place in my life, but on a brief visit to Ireland to launch my book in 2007 I
had a sudden, shocking encounter with him, fourteen years after his
disappearance. Now I had the chance to get answers to all the questions that
had tormented me for all those years when I was desperately trying to make
sense of what had happened. I was now face to face with the man who had
caused me such heartache.
The writing of my
first book changed my life irreversibly, setting in motion a new journey of
triumphant discovery. Who Do
You Belong To? takes you
along with me as I travel the world, crafting an exuberantly independent life
radiant with curiosity, promise, and fulfillment.
Mary has also written several self help books and
along with her sister published her mother’s journal in the beautiful memoir “Green
Are the Hills Far Away”.
About “Green Are the Hills Far Away"
Kathleen O’Toole and Paddy O’Connell, both from Ballinrobe, Co.
Mayo, married in 1947. Kathleen’s childhood as “the red one on the hill” had
earned her countless beatings from her teacher-nuns and her widowed mother; but
her spirit survived undaunted. With Paddy, Kathleen found genuine happiness—and
against the medical odds, gave birth to Kathryn and Mary.
A few months before her death in 1988, Kathleen wrote a short
memoir. It painted a vivid picture of Ballinrobe in the 1920s; the Irish
experience in England during WWII; and life as an RAF wife, including two
postings to Cyprus. The memoir, which she called Green Are the Hills Far Away,
took the form of a letter to her daughters. This book is an unabashed account
of a bold, spirited life lived to the full.
So listen now and share an interesting, and entertaining show as I chat with my special guest today on
A Book and a Chat with Mary Monaghan
Barry
Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Mary Monaghan
or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Mary Monaghan"
You can find out more about my guest at:
"Mary Monaghan - Remember Me?"
Barry Eva (Storyheart)
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