Ciara Geraghty

“I am a menopausal woman, standing here before you all in a lather of sweat, terrified that I might forget a word in the middle of a sentence with the threat of brain fog that looms over me on a daily basis as I sit at my desk and attempt to write to a deadline. I have insomnia, none of my clothes fit me, and there’s a chance I’m more irritable than I used to be.”

Accepting an invitation to join a panel at the Flights of Fancy Writers Festival feels like a gamble for Agatha Doyle who is supposed to be writing her next bestseller, but is instead documenting her menopause symptoms in a diary which her GP insists will be helpful in reducing her stress. Agatha has her doubts. Still, despite brain fog, hot flushes, resentment, and blistered, bloodied stumps, Agatha is holding it all together until a Beardy Man from the author asks the wrong question and Agatha’s ensuing rant goes viral, making her an icon for menopausal women everywhere.

As a woman experiencing the vagaries of the onset of menopause myself, I really enjoyed Queen Bee. Written in the form of a diary, entries often begin a list of symptoms that are all too familiar to me.

Those symptoms, which include (but are not limited to) insomnia, resentment, rage, brain fog, hot flushes and anxiety are bad enough, but add a full house that includes Agatha’s recently widowed father, her father’s girlfriend’s dog, LulaBelle; her heartbroken son Colm; her college drop out son Aiden, who is building a beehive in the backyard; and her husband Luke, plus financial concerns regarding their family business, and it’s new gorgeous waitress, it’s no wonder Agatha is overwhelmed, and stymied by writers block. She is rather bewildered by her new ‘heroine’ status, particularly since she feels like she’s not handling things well at all.

I couldn’t help but empathise with Agatha and found her to be a very appealing character. I enjoyed her sense of humour, which is quite heavy on the sarcasm, and her blunt assessments of everything. Agatha’s ‘conversations’ with her late mother add a layer of poignancy to the story, and her struggle to maintain her equilibrium attracts sympathy.

Witty, smart and ingenuous, Queen Bee is an entertaining, easy read.… (más)

Terry und Iris sind beste Freundinnen, wirklich beste Freundinnen, die alles füreinander tun würden. Iris ist sehr krank, sie hat Multiple Sklerose, und so entschließt sie sich, dass sie ihrem Leben ein Ende setzen will. Dafür will sie in die Schweiz reisen, solange es ihr noch möglich ist. Doch sie behält ihre Pläne für sich. Als Terry sie an ihrem Geburtstag überraschen will, erfährt sie, dass Iris vermisst wird. Schon bald hat sie herausgefunden, was Iris vorhat. Kurzerhand packt Terry ihren dementen Vater ins Auto und versucht Iris zu erreichen. Am Hafen von Dublin schafft sie es gerade noch, Iris einzuholen. Gemeinsam machen sie sich auf die ungeplante abenteuerliche Reise durch Europa. Obwohl der Anlass so traurig ist, wird es ein Roadtrip, der neben Tränen auch Lachen und Spaß bringt. Dennoch möchte Terry ihre beste Freundin gerne wieder zurückbringen.
Es ist eine wundervolle emotionale Geschichte, die mich sehr berührt hat. Einerseits war sie wirklich erschüttern, aber andererseits auch herzerwärmend. Der Autorin Ciara Geraghty gelingt es gut, dies alles herüberzubringen, ohne jemals rührselig zu werden.
Die Charaktere sind sehr liebevoll und authentisch gestaltet. Ich konnte mich gut in sie hineinversetzen. Solch schwere Krankheiten sind nicht nur für den kranken Menschen selbst schrecklich, sie betreffen immer auch das ganze Umfeld. Mir gefiel besonders Terry gut, die auf dieser Reise entdeckt, was in ihr steckt. Aber natürlich habe ich auch mit Iris gefühlt, die eine Entscheidung getroffen hat, die ihr bestimmt auch nicht leichtgefallen ist, die aber keinen anderen Weg gesehen hat.
Ich konnte das Buch nur schwer aus der Hand legen, denn diese Geschichte hat mich von Anfang an gepackt. Es ist eine Geschichte, die einen nicht so schnell loslässt. Meine absolute Leseempfehlung!… (más)

„Four months. That’s all it takes. Four months for everything to fall apart.” (Quotation Pos. 893)

Content
A brief moment of inattention of the truck driver, a deer on the road, two hitten cars, and after this first of June everything has changed. For Kat Kavanagh, the thirty-nine years old famous author, who publishes her crime novels under an alias, who was in one of the two cars, and whose friend Thomas told her that she were lucky. For Milo McIntyre, nine years old, whose Mam was in the other car and had no chance. Faith, Milo’s twenty-four years old sister, who still lives at home, does her best to look after Milo. One day in October, when she is searching for something in the attic, she finds old documents and a hidden family secret that again had changed and will change the life of the persons involved.

Theme and genre
This novel is about lies, trust, loss and grief, but most of all about family, friendship, love, courage and hope.

Characters
We meet likeable characters, most of all Milo, but also Faith and Kat’s brother Ed, and a main character, I have disliked for the major part of the story: Kat, selfish, egoistic, cold and sunken into self-pity.

Plot and writing
There are two main stories, alternately told by Kat or Milo, both first-person narrators, interspersed with some flashbacks. The plot is believable and a well-balanced mixture of romance, humor and substance with some interesting twists, until loose ends are tied together.

Conclusion
More than just another chick-lit novel, this is a delightful, cozy story with deepness.… (más)