Marie Fleming became a household name in Ireland with her trail-blazing campaign for the right to die with dignity, when she took a landmark case against the Irish State to lift the ban on assisted suicide. But behind the Multiple Sclerosis sufferer's brave fight lay a remarkable life story known to few.
From her young years growing up in Donegal, as she struggled to keep her family together after her mother left, to her battle to keep her own baby - born when Marie was still a teenager - to her later quest for education and self-betterment against the odds, An Act of Love is an unforgettable story of ambition, of sorrow, and of life lived to the full. In it, she also describes coming to terms with MS and the ordeal of her later court case.
Completed just before Marie's death in late 2013, most of all, this is a story of the power of abiding love.

About the Author
Marie Fleming was born and raised in Donegal. She left school early and became a mother at just sixteen, before returning to college in her twenties where she later gained her MBA. In her mid thirties, she was diagnosed with MS, which led her to take a landmark case, years later in 2010, against the Irish State to lift the ban on assisted suicide. Although she lost her case, she gained a huge groundswell of public support and brought the 'right to die' issue into the forefront of public debate. Marie had two grown up children and lived in Woodenbridge, County Wicklow, with her partner and carer, Tom. Marie died from MS in December 2013.

Reviews
An unflinching account of the relentless march of a dreadful disease...compelling * Irish Mail on Sunday *
Written in simple and forthright prose, [An Act of Love] depicts a formidable character who may have ultimately lost her legal battle but could count herself as a survivor in the truest sense of that word... Brave and touching * Sunday Business Post *
There are books that should be written and books that need to be written and then there are books like An Act of Love, that push and fight their way out into the world against all the odds -- Anne Enright * Irish Independent *
Remarkable * Irish Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444791228
Author Marie Fleming
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Hachette Books Ireland
Publisher Hachette Books Ireland
Weight(grams) 208g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 166mm * 21mm