Are You Somebody‪?‬

#1 New York Times Bestseller: This Irish writer's memoir is "a beautiful exploration of human loneliness and happiness, of contentment and longing" (Alice McDermott, The Washington Post).

One of nine children born into a penniless North Dublin family, Nuala O'Faolain was saved from a harrowing childhood by her love of books and reading. Though she ultimately became one of Ireland's best-known columnists, her professional success did little to ease her loneliness and longing for a deep connection to the world. Are You Somebody? distills her experiences into a wisdom that can only come from an obstinate refusal to shrink from life.


This commemorative edition of her landmark memoir celebrates O'Faolain's remarkable life and work with a new foreword from Frank McCourt as well as additional archival materials. Strikingly vivid and starkly emotional, Are You Somebody? is, like O'Faolain herself, a singular example of courage, honesty, and bold living.


"Brilliant." —Philadelphia Inquirer * "Searing." —Boston Globe * "Evocative." —People * "Fierce." —The New Yorker * "Inspiring." —Orlando Sentinel * "Courageous." —Irish Times * "Moving." —Library Journal * "Lovely." —USA Today

"An Irish woman reflects, with stunning honesty, on her country and her past . . . A testament to a full and passionately lived life—all the more affecting because of that life's vividly described imperfection and pain." —Kirkus Reviews

"Famous names dot the pages of O'Faolain's memoir, but the center of her story is the enduring impact of her unhappy childhood and her search, in middle age as in youth, for love, satisfaction, and meaning." —Booklist

"One of the most perfectly observed portraits of female loneliness I've ever come across." —Zoe Heller, The New York Times Book Review

"Likely to become a classic of Irish autobiography." —Colm Toibin, The Times Literary Supplement