Showing results by publisher "Hachette Books Ireland" in All Categories

The friendship starts with a letter...from aspiring writer Sarah to blunt but witty journalist Helen, complaining about Helen's most recent book review. And there begins a correspondence that blossoms into a friendship which spans over two decades. As the years pass, the women exchange details of loves lost and found, of family joys and upheavals. Sarah's letters filled with thoughts on her outwardly perfect marriage and her aching desire for children, and Helen's on the struggle of raising her young daughter alone.

May O'Callaghan has decided that life's too short and she's decided to throw in the towel in her predictable nine-to-five job. Now what? As May fits into her new life we meet her friend Pam and her husband Jack - but why is Pam terrified to tell Jack that she's pregnant? And then there's Denis and Bernard, May's next-door neighbours, going about their business oblivious to the deadly threat that lurks close by. There's Paddy, who lives on his own yet never seems to be at home.

Emily Feeney has always loved the festive season, so when she invites some of her favourite people to Christmas dinner at her restaurant, she has an afternoon of delicious fare and seasonal fun in mind. But as the big day draws near, her plans start to look a bit uncertain. Her partner Bill is preoccupied by family worries, and both he and Emily have been skirting around a big unanswered question. When events finally force Emily to issue an ultimatum, Bill must choose between the two women he loves.

Finn Fitzpatrick barely knows Mandy Breslin from the law firm where they both work. Mandy moves in the privileged world of the senior partners. Finn keeps to herself. But Mandy has secrets, and as Finn gets drawn deeper and deeper into her dead colleague's life, she finds out that Mandy isn't such a stranger after all. And that Mandy's not the only one at the firm with something to hide.

Nell Mulcahy grew up on the island, so when the old stone cottage by the edge of the sea went up for sale, the decision to move back from Dublin was easy. But when Nell decides to rent out her cottage for the summer to help raise money her forthcoming wedding to Tim, she's unprepared for what's about to happen. As she welcomes holiday-makers to her cottage, Nell must face some truths: about her upcoming wedding to Tim and her friendship with his brother, James. And, meanwhile, her father delivers some astounding news which leaves Nell, her mother and the island reeling.

After a bumpy start, Nell and James have finally said 'I do', and everything seems to be falling into place. Nell is getting comfortable in her new role as stepmother to James' 16-year-old son, Andy, she's finally mending fences with her father, and she's ready to look to the future. Then Nell's ex-fiancé Tim - her husband James' brother - comes back to Roone, a place he's never liked, and she begins to feel uneasy.  

It's their 20-year school reunion but the Plunkett sisters have their own reasons for not wanting to attend. Caroline, now a successful knitwear designer, spends her time flying between her business in England and her lover in Italy. As far as she's concerned, her school days, and what happened to her the year she left, should stay in the past. Eleanor, meanwhile, is unrecognisable from the fun-loving girl she was in school. With a son who is barely speaking to her, and a husband keeping a secret from her, revisiting the past is the last thing on her mind.

A warm, spellbinding tale of friendship, love and second chances from this number one best-selling author. Behind the brightly coloured doors of Miller's Avenue live people with very complicated lives...When Yvonne in number seven joins an online dating website, she's looking for something more than friendship but, after a series of disastrous encounters, decides to shut down her account. Is she shutting out her only chance of finding love? While next door Dan, still reeling from his wife's desertion, signs up for a cookery course....

It's three days before Christmas. Tilly boards a plane on the other side of the world. She's determined to reach Roone, a small island off the west coast of Ireland, in time for Christmas Day. Tilly carries a troubling secret, and Laura, a woman she's never met, might be the only one who can help her. Except that Laura has no idea that Tilly exists. And with five children, a mother-in-law stranded on the island and a husband with whom she's barely on speaking terms, an unexpected Christmas guest is the last thing she needs.

This is the story of George and Alice, two lonely hearts unknowingly orbiting each other's lives. But will their paths converge—and what will happen if they do?

A tragic accident leaves the tight-knit book club in the small seaside town of Fairweather reeling. Then stranger Tom McLysaght arrives in the community, and the members of the club find their lives changing in ways they never could have imagined. None of them realise that Tom is hiding a secret. On the surface, his move to Fairweather was to escape his highflying life in London and to put some much-needed distance between him and his ex-fiancée - but deep down Tom knows that there are some things he cannot run from.

In his remarkable new audiobook, The Freedom Within, Gerry Hussey presents us with the secrets to releasing untapped reservoirs of strength and calm to live with more confidence, ease and an incredible sense of inner peace in our lives. Through deeply vulnerable truths and life-changing insights, Gerry looks at how, by changing the way we experience emotion and unlocking our true energy flow, we can transform how we navigate life's challenges and step beyond fear, self-doubt and anxiety to discover self-belief, a deeper sense of purpose, meaning and inner contentment.

It's Una Darling's 17th birthday, but nobody feels much like celebrating. It's been exactly a year since the tragic death of her father, Finn, and the people he left behind have been doing their best to get on with things. But it hasn't been easy. Daphne is tired of sadness, of mourning the long life she and her husband were meant to share, but doesn't quite know how to get past it. And she can't seem to get through to her stepdaughter - they barely speak anymore, so Daphne knows nothing of the unexpected solace Una has found, or of the risk she's about to take.

Catherine Corless could not have known where her interest in local history would lead her as she began researching the Tuam Mother and Baby Home in Galway in 2010. Uncovering no less than 796 missing burial records of children born there, the stark truth of their place of rest became clear: a disused sewage tank on the old home site, where two boys had once stumbled upon bones.

Another summer is in full swing on the island of Roone, and preparations are underway for a big birthday party at the local hotel. But beneath the air of celebration, many of the islanders have their own struggles to contend with. Imelda, isolated by her recent heartbreak, has no memory of accepting a month-long bed and breakfast booking, but when a stranger turns up on her doorstep looking forward to his stay, she has little choice but to take him in.

When Chef Emily is left at the altar in front of her family and friends, she swears off love and instead throws herself into her new business: a restaurant with a difference. There's only one communal table, designed with the single diner in mind. Now it's two years later, and with her business thriving with regular customers, romance is still the last thing on Emily's mind - until she receives a letter from her ex who is returning home from Canada with a burning question for her.... 

Rather than waiting for the big life-changing moments, which more often than not don't happen, The Power of Small shows you how to take manageable steps as opportunities to change your life, one decision at a time - emphasising self-compassion as a means to gently expand your comfort zone and open up new horizons. Mixing case studies from clinical practice with the latest psychological research, the authors also share personal stories, having worked firsthand with these techniques on their own journeys towards improved mental and emotional well-being.

For over a decade, podcaster and health coach Georgie Crawford felt the same as she focussed on external achievement and validation - all the things that make a life look good. Then in 2017, she received some devastating news and began to ask herself the most important questions: What is it that I really want from life? Who could I be, if I really started believing in myself? How can I feel more fulfilled and content? Now, Georgie tells her story and shows us how, by connecting to and listening to our inner voices, we can begin to live happier, calmer and more fulfilled lives.

In the early 1980s, The Diamonds - Ireland's trailblazing all-woman rock band - were on the brink of international success. Their debut single 'Too Much Not Enough' was soaring the British charts. Then, as suddenly as they'd arrived, they vanished. It was the last anyone would hear of songwriter, guitarist and legend-in-the-making Birdy Troy. Stacey Nash, host of the popular podcast 'Whatever Happened To...?', becomes fascinated with the band that broke up before she was born. And as problems mount in her own life, Stacey is drawn deeper into unravelling the mystery.

A warm, illuminating memoir full of wit and wisdom that doubles up as a life guide for millennials - by Irish YouTuber Melanie Murphy. Growing up in an online age, becoming an Internet sensation with half a million followers on her YouTube channel, Irish girl Melanie Murphy's journey has been far from ordinary. Here, in her first audiobook, she shares the ups and downs of her life.