A Bowl of Irish Stew is a new anthology of stories written to bring hope and comfort to those grieving or suffering from mental health. This new initiative is the brainchild of Gary Rutherford and one I am honoured to be a part of. The book’s subtitle is “Stories Combined in a Meal for the Mind” and it’s perfect.
A Bowl Of Irish Stew Launch
The big launch for this book is tomorrow, Tuesday 23rd October, in Balbriggan. This is the first book in a new Irish series of short stories and poems collected to generate a sustainable funding source to support the work of mental health services. The proceeds from the sale of this edition are going to Pieta House.
It is hoped that the book will bring a sense of hope, love, courage, and mental health recovery to all who read it.
My Contributions – A Bowl of Irish Stew
Those of you who already know my story know that suicide awareness is something very close to my heart and in this book, I have been given the opportunity to share some of my writing. One piece is a poem called “Missing Pieces”. This poem was written after a prompt at my writers’ group. The prompt was “something I forgot” and this poem flowed out. It combines all the wonderful memories I have of my father, how he looked, sounded, things we did, and how as time passes the memories remain but the actual reality of them has faded. The sound of his voice, the sparkle in his eyes, the way he smelled, and so on.
The other piece I share in this book is a memoir called “The Middle Ones the Break”. This is a story that always brings a laugh and a smile in our home and it took so many years to be able to reflect on stories like this. Suicide brings with it a deep sense of pain, grief, and unanswered questions, and it can often take years before we can think of the person and happier times. This memoir is all about one of those happier times and how my mom thought she had super strength. I am so privileged to be able to share it within the pages of A Bowl of Irish Stew and hopefully bring a sense of hope to those who’ve lost a loved one to suicide. It takes time, sometimes a lot more than you might like, but there will come a time when you can remember your loved ones with a smile; a time when your heart won’t pinch so tightly, and a time when you can laugh once more.
This is why this book is so special. It’s a collection of stories that bring hope, love, and courage to all those suffering.
If you are in Dublin tomorrow evening and can make it to the launch, please do. If you can’t and would like to purchase a copy this book or copies for friends and family, you can email Gary at mystory@abowlofirishstew.ie to order your copies now. The cost of the book is just €10 and 1,000 books have been printed to raise €10,000 for Pieta House.
A special thanks to everyone who has sent messages about this book and the kind words. It’s always difficult to speak out and share how suicide affects families, but I believe it is time that we all speak out because in doing so, we never know how many people we can help. Grieving is a lonely process and grief through suicide can often feel very isolating. You don’t want to talk about it for fear of upsetting or hurting other family members, you don’t want to talk about it because of all the questions, but in talking, you can show others that it’s okay to speak out. It okay to share and as you survive, you may become a strength for someone else. Only in talking can we help make mental health something that shouldn’t be hidden. People need to talk and hopefully, with the launch of this book, talking will become something that we all feel comfortable doing.
My email is always open for anyone who wishes to discuss mental health issues or just find someone to talk to.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
