Mother Mother

'A brilliant book...that explores the brutal legacy of addiction and the consequences of a deep grief left to stagnate' SARA COX'A work of gilded melancholy that is going to take everyone by surprise' UNA MULLALLY'Macmanus writes with flair and confidence rarely seen in a debut' SIN AD GLEESONOne Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point. This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?'Tender and deeply felt, [Mother Mother] is a beautiful portrayal of the pain and beauty of normal life, told in hauntingly lyrical prose. Poignant and beautifully observed, it was a novel that stayed with me a long time' Clover Stroud'Brave and occasionally heartbreaking... Macmanus' debut novel is assured, evocative and, like her characters, full of gentle strength' Jan Carson'So beautifully written... Moving and brilliant' Emily Eavis'Superb... [Macmanus is] brilliant at voice and motivation and the (historic and emotional) passage of time, at making households so vivid you know their smell' Laura Snapes