Book Synopsis
Mary's mother, Peggy, passed away in February of 2014. It took her a few weeks to gather her courage to go through her “bits and bobs”. In a blanket box behind the bedroom door, she found the bundle of letters inside a brown envelope tied with a red ribbon.
Thirty years ago, Mary and Catherine had just finished the Leaving Cert. It was 1983; the height of the recession. Most of Ireland had been hit badly but Carrick-on-Suir in South Tipperary; where the girls lived, particularly so. Catherine decided to take a job as an au-pair in France; near a small town in Brittany called Trégunc. By the end of that Summer, Mary had decided, after much angst, to become articled to a local firm of accountants in Tipperary, attending the Regional College in Waterford; the first of her family to finish secondary school. They promised faithfully to write to each other; which they did pretty much every two weeks for a year. Mary kept Catherine’s letters tied in that ribbon; and in 1991 Catherine’s letters were joined by her own; when on a brief return to Ireland, Catherine handed them back to Mary with the parting words “sure, you might get these published someday”.
The letters stayed in Mary's family home; forgotten by her until she opened the blanket box. At first, the letters opened a doorway for her to her eighteen-year-old self and she thought that perhaps she would compile them for Catherine and herself, as they both approached their 50th birthdays. However, the more she read them; Catherine’s words came echoing back and the idea of a book took shape. In the months following Peggy’s death, Mary sat down most nights and drew the letters together. She then shared her idea for publication with Catherine and both agreed that it was worth a shot. In a few short months they were ready for submission and within weeks, Penguin Ireland had shown an interest in publication.
The book consists of 28 letters which tell about growing up, the changing relationship with parents/grandparents and falling in love. The letters describe in open, honest detail Catherine’s experience of her first year in Brittany, a year of struggling with a new language and new food, of adventure and excitement, of loneliness and shyness, but also of incredible happiness and joy. They describe Mary's own year of newness and oddness; sharing college lectures with the opposite sex having come from an all-girls convent school, student politics, making friends from differing class backgrounds with the odd bit of study thrown in! They are set against the backdrop of early-‘80s Ireland: - Kazagoogoo and Culture Club on the radio, “Dynasty” on the tele, Ronald Reagan’s visit to Ballyporeen, contraception being illegal and the first Abortion Referendum. The book is by turns heart-breaking, funny, tender and gutsy. Mostly though, it tells of two young women and the friendship that sustained and enriched them across the miles with all of the scolding, teasing, smothering with concern and sharing of woes and worries that make up such a friendship.
Thirty years ago, Mary and Catherine had just finished the Leaving Cert. It was 1983; the height of the recession. Most of Ireland had been hit badly but Carrick-on-Suir in South Tipperary; where the girls lived, particularly so. Catherine decided to take a job as an au-pair in France; near a small town in Brittany called Trégunc. By the end of that Summer, Mary had decided, after much angst, to become articled to a local firm of accountants in Tipperary, attending the Regional College in Waterford; the first of her family to finish secondary school. They promised faithfully to write to each other; which they did pretty much every two weeks for a year. Mary kept Catherine’s letters tied in that ribbon; and in 1991 Catherine’s letters were joined by her own; when on a brief return to Ireland, Catherine handed them back to Mary with the parting words “sure, you might get these published someday”.
The letters stayed in Mary's family home; forgotten by her until she opened the blanket box. At first, the letters opened a doorway for her to her eighteen-year-old self and she thought that perhaps she would compile them for Catherine and herself, as they both approached their 50th birthdays. However, the more she read them; Catherine’s words came echoing back and the idea of a book took shape. In the months following Peggy’s death, Mary sat down most nights and drew the letters together. She then shared her idea for publication with Catherine and both agreed that it was worth a shot. In a few short months they were ready for submission and within weeks, Penguin Ireland had shown an interest in publication.
The book consists of 28 letters which tell about growing up, the changing relationship with parents/grandparents and falling in love. The letters describe in open, honest detail Catherine’s experience of her first year in Brittany, a year of struggling with a new language and new food, of adventure and excitement, of loneliness and shyness, but also of incredible happiness and joy. They describe Mary's own year of newness and oddness; sharing college lectures with the opposite sex having come from an all-girls convent school, student politics, making friends from differing class backgrounds with the odd bit of study thrown in! They are set against the backdrop of early-‘80s Ireland: - Kazagoogoo and Culture Club on the radio, “Dynasty” on the tele, Ronald Reagan’s visit to Ballyporeen, contraception being illegal and the first Abortion Referendum. The book is by turns heart-breaking, funny, tender and gutsy. Mostly though, it tells of two young women and the friendship that sustained and enriched them across the miles with all of the scolding, teasing, smothering with concern and sharing of woes and worries that make up such a friendship.