Introduction

In his award-winning novels and stories, John McGahern (one of “the greatest Irish writers”—The New York Times Book Review) explores the ordinary lives of men and women to reveal the intricate workings of the human heart and mind. Now, in All Will Be Well, he turns to his own life, telling the story of his childhood in the Irish countryside and the beginnings of his life as a writer.

McGahern grew up the eldest of seven children in County Leitrim, where North and South meet under the Iron Mountains. His early years were marked by his father’s violent nature, the selflessness of his mother—a teacher of uncommon independence—and the tragedy of her death when McGahern was only nine. With extraordinary poignancy, he describes her and how her love remained a source of strength for him and his siblings, helping them to survive their father’s tyrannical rule and, ultimately, enabling them to break free into their own lives.

McGahern traces his career as a writer as it takes him increasingly far from home—to Dublin, London, Paris, Helsinki, Spain, the United States—before it brings him back to the almost unchanged landscape in which he had grown up and which had indelibly shaped his life and work. His lyrical descriptions of the fields and quiet roads of his home catch the subtle beauty of one of Ireland’s least known counties, while his portraits of its inhabitants are drawn with great insight and tenderness. “The people and the language and landscape…were like my breathing.”

All Will Be Well is a haunting, illuminating memoir.

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Excerpt

The soil in Leitrim is poor, in places no more than an inch deep. Underneath is daub, a blue-grey modelling clay, or channel, a compacted gravel. Neither can absorb the heavy rainfall. Rich crops of rushes and wiry grasses keep the thin clay from being washed away. ... view entire excerpt...

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