My Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love and Die
Kevin Toolis
Sep 2017 · Weidenfeld & Nicolson · Narrated by Kevin Toolis
headphones
Audiobook
7 hr 34 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
Want a 45 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
Death is a whisper in the Anglo-Saxon world. But on a remote island, off the coast of Co. Mayo, it has a louder voice. Along with reports of incoming Atlantic storms, the local radio station runs a thrice daily roll call of ordinary deaths. The islanders go in great numbers, often with young children, to wake with their dead. They keep the corpse and the bereaved company through the long hours of the night. They dig the grave with their own hands. It is a communal triumph in overcoming the death of the individual.
In this beautifully written memoir, Kevin Toolis gives an intimate, eye-witness account of the death and wake of his father, and explores the wider history of the Irish Wake. With an uplifting, positive message at its heart, My Father's Wake celebrates the spiritual depth of the Irish Wake and asks if we can find a better way to deal with our mortality, by living and loving in the acceptance of death.
Written and Read by Kevin Toolis
(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
In this beautifully written memoir, Kevin Toolis gives an intimate, eye-witness account of the death and wake of his father, and explores the wider history of the Irish Wake. With an uplifting, positive message at its heart, My Father's Wake celebrates the spiritual depth of the Irish Wake and asks if we can find a better way to deal with our mortality, by living and loving in the acceptance of death.
Written and Read by Kevin Toolis
(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
About the author
Kevin Toolis is a writer and film-maker. He is the author of an acclaimed chronicle of Ireland's Troubles, Rebel Hearts: Journeys Within the IRA's Soul. He has written for the New York Times Magazine and the Guardian and reported on conflicts across the world. As a film-maker Toolis has won a BAFTA for Best Single Drama and was nominated for an Emmy for his documentaries on the Middle East. His family have lived in the same oceanside village on an island off the coast of County Mayo for the last 200 years.
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
