Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Rules of the Road by Ciara Geraghty. It's a fantastic read and Geraghty is a great writer.
Ciara Geraghty was born and raised in Dublin. She started writing in her thirties and hasn’t looked back.
She has three children and one husband and they have recently adopted a dog who, alongside their youngest daughter, is in charge of pretty much everything.
Ciara is available to write features. Potential subjects include:
Dementia and Ciara’s experience of caring for her father, Mother/daughter relationships and how caring for Ciara’s father brought her and her mother closer together, The right to die (Ciara undertook extensive research for the book), Female friendships, particularly the rewards of those made later in life.
Follow @ciarageraghty on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit ciarageraghty.com, Buy Rules of the Road
About the book
When Iris Armstrong goes missing, her best friend Terry, wife, mother and all-round worrier, is convinced something bad has happened. And when she finds her glamorous, feisty friend, she’s right: Iris is setting out on a journey that she plans to make her last.
The only way for Terry to stop Iris is to join her, on a road trip that will take them and Terry’s confused father Eugene onto a ferry, across the Irish sea and into an adventure that will change all of their lives.
Somehow what should be the worst six days of Terry’s life turn into the best.
Honest and emotional, Ciara Geraghty examines family, ageing parents, marriage, life and loss with warmth in a book that grown-up readers will adore
Sometimes you just know. Is there a slight change in the energy, were there hints Terry ignored up to this point? Either way when Terry realises that her best friend Iris has disappeared and has lied about where she is going - Terry knows something is wrong. Iris is on her way to meet death on her own terms. She wants dignity in death.
Terry is determined to change her mind, which is how she ends up on a road trip with her father Eugene, who has dementia, and an unwilling Iris. The road trip is only a few days, but those few days change life as Terry knows it.
I have to hand it to Geraghty, she tackles a controversial topic in this book and does so with empathy, humour and incredible emotional depth. Then she tops it by weaving the fragile elderly parent with dementia and the complexity of friendships, specifically friendships between women, into the story.
Aside from the fact the writing is excellent, I loved the way Geraghty wrote with such passion and complete vulnerability. And how each element or separate storyline becomes part of a very intricate and painful puzzle. Her main character is pulled in multiple directions by a variety of people and responsibilities, but the importance of doing what is right for both Iris and herself comes first. 'This is my truth and I own it - accept it and my decision.'
I really enjoyed the simplicity of it, which sounds like a strange thing to say, especially when death is both the competitor in her personal race and the companion. Nothing is simple about choosing the right to die or caring for a parent with dementia and it certainly isn't simple to support someone to whom death is an unfulfilled wish, and yet the author makes it simple. There is a grace and humility, whilst courting the jovial moments of the story, that make this story a spectacular read.
In a way it is an homage to friendships between women. Deep, honest, painful and willing to accept choices, even if it means being torn apart. It's a platonic love letter from one woman to another. Not everyone gets to experience that kind of friendship in their lifetime.
I'll leave it on this note: We have a right to choose - our bodies our choice.
Buy Rules of the Road at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HarperCollins; pub date 20th February 2020 Paperback Original | Ebook pub date May 2019 | Audio |£7.99. Buy at Amazon com.
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