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About The Book

An extraordinary and urgent debut by a prize-winning Irish writer, NESTING introduces an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to reinvent her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Tense, beautiful, and underpinned by an unassailable love, hope and resilience, this is the story of one woman’s bid to start over.

About The Author

Photograph @ Barry Cronin

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner UK (January 30, 2025)
  • Length: 400 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781398528529

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Raves and Reviews

'The rich tradition of women’s writing in the north of Ireland is being ably continued by writers such as Roisín O’Donnell.'

– The Times, on The Glass Shore

'A beautiful collection from an interesting new author who handles space and time – those two bugbears of the short-story writer – with uncanny ease, fluidity and absolute grace.'

– Irish Independent, on Wild Quiet

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