Upon its original publication in 1996, Are You Somebody? quickly became an cultural sensation in Ireland, sparking an ‘emotional episode in public life in Ireland’. O’Faolain’s striking candour and focus on the long‑silenced experiences of Irish women helped the book become an international bestseller.

Are You Somebody? is an extraordinary memoir that explores identity, love and the search for meaning in a changing Ireland. Nuala O’Faolain shares her life with unflinching honesty – her struggles, triumphs and the questions that shaped her journey.

This is more than a memoir; it’s a conversation about what it means to live fully, to question deeply and to embrace vulnerability.

'A remarkable memoir, poignant, truthful, imparting that quiet wisdom which suffering brings.'

-- Edna O'Brien

'An extraordinary memoir, beautifully written.'

-- Roddy Doyle

'A beautiful exploration of human loneliness and happiness, of contentment and longing.'

* Washington Post *

'[An] astonishing book ... a classic of Irish autobiography.'

-- Colm Tóibín * Times Literary Supplement *

'A rich, fierce memoir.'

* The New Yorker *

'You don't want the book to end: it glows with compassion and you want more, more.'

-- Frank McCourt

'This book has to be read.'

* The New York Times *

'It still has the power to astonish.'

* Backlisted.fm *

'It’s a powerhouse of a read, and you come away from it feeling as if you really got to know the lonely, flawed and hugely intelligent and brave woman who wrote it.'

* Reading Matters *

'[It] may be the truest memoir I have ever read. There was no detailed spared in the retelling of her life. The good, and frankly quite a lot of bad, were written in the pages giving the reader a true look into the life of Nuala and many other women growing up in Ireland in this time period.'

-- Rachel Keane * What Is That Book About? *

'Who gave me the sense of being seen, through the generosity of seeing herself.'

-- Emilie Pine * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'Through this insistence on the burning power of her life, O’Faolain did not just refuse to accept insignificance. She gave permission to herself and all of us who come after her to take ourselves seriously. Permission to see our lives as meaningful. And, even, to see our lives as art.'

-- Emilie Pine * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'There was a kind of febrile energy in the room; a giddy sensation of possibility. It all emanated from Nuala O’Faolain, who radiated both a joyful and a steely presence from the centre of the room.'

-- Rosita Boland * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'I knew her as a formidable journalist, and now she had written this book, and broken more barriers about what women were not supposed to say out loud.'

-- Rosita Boland * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'It felt like O’Faolain was writing it entirely for herself and that it was, in places, vibrating with hurt. And that’s, counter-intuitively, why I love it. It leaves a mark. I’m still not sure I’ve ever read anything like it.'

-- Patrick Freyne * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'When I first read the then memoir in progress, one night in Tony’s attic, I knew it was a unique and remarkable human document.' 

-- Dermot Bolger * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

'Her bravery in that interview, and in her subsequent writings, have stayed with me, a shining example of the pared-back humanity Nuala brought to her life, and by extension, to ours.'

-- Doreen Finn * 30 Years of Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody *

Nuala O'Faolain was a waitress, sales clerk, and maid; a university lecturer; a TV producer; and a columnist with The Irish Times. The author of three consecutive New York Times bestsellers, her books include the memoir Almost There, a follow-up to Are You Somebody?, as well as three novels: Best Love, Rosie, My Dream of You and The Story of Chicago May. She died in Dublin in 2008.