SHORTLISTED FOR TWO IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021

'Something they don't tell you about getting older is that you fall. Oh, you hear about it in passing, of course, "She had a fall, poor thing". Falling is not something you ever think about as a younger woman. You think about falling in love . . .'

At 20 Londoner Ann Ingle fell madly in love with an Irish fellow she met on holiday in Cornwall. At the church to arrange their shotgun wedding she discovered that he hadn't even told her his real name.

Sixty-odd years later Ann looks back on that first glorious fall and in a series of essays considers what she has learned from the life that followed - bringing eight children into the world, their father's years of mental illness and tragic death at 40, being a cash-strapped single mother in 1980s Dublin, coming into her own in her middle years - going to college, working and writing, and continuing to evolve and learn into her ninth decade, even as she accepts the realities of being 'old'.

Candid about everything that matters - love, sex, heartbreak, money, class, religion, mental health, rearing children (and letting them go), reading and writing, ageing - Openhearted is a compelling story about living life in a spirit of curiosity and delight and with a willingness to look for good in others.

___________________

'By some distance the most courageous, most poignant, most life-affirming memoir I've read in the last twenty years and more' Paul Howard

'Genuinely inspirational. I LOVE ANN INGLE' Marian Keyes

'What a beautiful openhearted, at times broken-hearted memoir ... honest, funny, searingly direct, a wonderful voice ... remarkable' Joe Duffy

'Really beautiful. Searingly honest, astonishingly frank and very, very funny' Maia Dunphy

About the Author
Originally from London, Ann Ingle has lived in Dublin since the 1960s and is a mother of eight. In 2018, she co-wrote Driven, the memoir of motorsport legend Rosemary Smith, which was shortlisted for an Irish Book Award. Openhearted is her debut memoir.

Reviews
A beautiful book * Irish Times *
Lifted my spirits beyond description! So loving and non-judgemental and Ann Ingle's enjoyment of life is beautiful to behold. Genuinely inspirational. I LOVE ANN INGLE -- Marian Keyes
I loved it, really loved it . . . a very uplifting, hopeful book . . . brilliant -- Ray D'Arcy
What a beautiful openhearted, at times broken-hearted memoir . . . honest, funny, searingly direct, a wonderful voice . . . remarkable -- Joe Duffy
Heart-breaking yet funny, and jaw-droppingly honest . . . by some distance, the most courageous, most poignant, most life-affirming memoir I've read in the last twenty years and more -- Paul Howard
Incredibly poignant and so compelling, honest, warm and unique - I love this! -- Nina Stibbe
Profoundly honest . . . I relish its kindness, its humour and its courage -- Frank McGuinness
A breathtakingly honest account of marriage, motherhood and widowhood . . . extremely moving and hugely inspiring -- Kathleen Mac Mahon
Those who read openhearted will experience the warm glow of Ann Ingle's company - you are lucky -- Niall Breslin
Really beautiful. Searingly honest, astonishingly frank and very, very funny -- Maia Dunphy
Wise and funny and thoughtful -- Rosita Boland
Openhearted . . . is a reminder of how much times have changed and this should appeal to all readers, of every vintage, young and old * Irish Independent *
Extraordinary . . . a story of survival in the face of extraordinary hardship, but also a love story - and one that betrays not an ounce of mawkishness or self-pity * The Gloss *



Book Information
ISBN 9781844885718
Author Ann Ingle
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Sandycove
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 422g
Dimensions(mm) 222mm * 144mm * 29mm