A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief . . . compelling and nuanced

Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane. All of life is in it. I utterly adored it

Grand hooked me like a fish . . . a tale of recovery and growth [and] deep, deep love

Exquisitely written . . . profoundly moving. And like all great memoirs it is hilarious in parts. If, like me, you love the personal essays of Sinéad Gleeson and Emilie Pine, you’ll adore this

A really vivacious account of frayed family relationships across decades and around the world

Remarkably funny, honest and often sad . . . there’s a whole pile of un-maudlin heart and a whole lot of love here

A searingly honest memoir, as close to the bone as it is to the heart

Deeply moving and surprisingly funny

I loved it! The writing is stunning. Noelle McCarthy has an incredible knack for sharing the darkest of memories with a lightness of touch. You won’t want to put this book down, but once you do, every gorgeous word will haunt you. Beautiful and compelling

Savagely brilliant

A fierce and sometimes hilarious reflection on the maddening endurance of love between mother and daughter. McCarthy’s prose sparkles in the darkness of addiction, shame, and inherited trauma. I devoured this book

Grand is a love story and occasionally a hate story too. A vital, unexpected love letter to family, flaws, and the fact that none of us is perfect. McCarthy writes to remind us that sometimes you have to pull at the threads, perhaps unravel completely, to find your way back to a life a little less undone

An eloquent exploration of generational trauma told with immense wit and candour. Compellingly readable

A rich, unsettling read – a bit like jumping on a moving train as it speeds through shifting landscapes. Enthralling, unnerving and above all, honest

I really loved this book . . . beautifully endearing and candid

Humane and wryly funny . . . so readable, relatable and ultimately uplifting

Already acclaimed in New Zealand, it doesn’t hold back any punches in describing a difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother (and is insightful about the restraints imposed on an intelligent woman of her mother’s generation living in conservative, Catholic Ireland.)

Terrific energy . . . sparkling and evocative