My name is Rachel. I’m twenty-seven. I’m not an anorexic, but thank you for asking, naturally I’m flattered. No, I haven’t always been tall, I was slightly shorter the day I was born.

Rachel is the second Walsh sister to feature in a novel of her own, the first being the story of her sister, Claire, in 1997’s ‘Watermelon’. A MUST-READ FOR FANS OLD AND NEW, THIS STUNNING 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION IS THE PERFECT WAY TO REDISCOVER THE 1.5 MILLION COPY, NO. 1 BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

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Marian's writing is a talisman of hope in my life, and in the lives of millions of people. We can hold on to her words, laughing and crying and knowing we are not alone. She writes for all of us. I can remember reading Rachel's Holiday 25 years ago and thinking that this writer, this amazing woman, understood all the contradictory things in my head, and how could she, because this wasn't my story and yet, she understood about being human like nobody else. And could write it. Her words are a gift and her talent is glorious. Congratulations, darling Marian. If there’s a core theme in Again, Rachel, it’s that of forgiveness: forgiveness of oneself for human failings. Forgiveness for loved ones who don’t always behave in ways we might wish. Forgiveness for the adversities – seemingly perverse in their cruelty – that life sometimes throws at us. Again, Rachel has all of Keyes’s trademark wit, humour and whip-smart dialogue, but it’s also a novel teeming with compassion and redemption. Rachel’s Holiday is a classic example. It’s not about Rachel going on a holiday! It’s about Rachel spending a little time in an Irish drying-out clinic at the insistence of her parents. Rachel doesn’t mind too much, she thinks it will be like a little spa holiday and she might even drop a few pounds too but she wasn’t bargaining for the harsh realities ahead of her. I read Rachel's Holiday after I was hospitalizsed for anorexia and bulimia. There's a scene in which Rachel takes coke alone and my reaction was scornful – who does drugs by themselves, like a loser? And a tiny voice inside me whispered, you do this. You use food in the same furtive way. You're an addict, just like Rachel. That's the power of Marian Keyes. She will make you laugh and make you cry, but she will also reveal the truth of who you really are. Her work is laugh-out-loud funny, compulsively readable, and yet there is always that dark heart, pulsing at its core. I can think of few other writers who have the same innate understanding of human nature as she does, and even fewer who make it look so effortless. In short, she is one of our finest authors, and Rachel's Holiday is a modern classic.

I read these books in my late teens, early twenties, and I can honestly say I learned a great deal about life and relationships (especially what not to do ;). Keyes began writing short stories while suffering from alcoholism. After her treatment at the Rutland Centre she returned to her job in London and submitted her short stories to Poolbeg Press. The publisher encouraged her to submit a full-length novel and Keyes began work on her first book, Watermelon. The novel was published the same year. Since 1995 she has published many novels and works of non-fiction. [7] I mean, of course I’ll read whatever Keyes writes: sequels are one of my things. And Keyes herself is wary of pitfalls, telling Good Morning Britain: “If I do a bad job of this, I feel like I’d be destroying not only the book I’m writing, but also the previous book.”There was silence while I tried to absorb the fact that I was once more without a job. Was God Beadle rerunning old tapes up there? A must-read for fans old and new, this stunning 25th anniversary edition is the perfect way to rediscover the no.1 bestselling phenomenon. Featuring an exclusive extract from the highly-anticipated sequel, Again, Rachel.

Margaret,’ I said briskly, ‘there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m sorry you’ve had a wasted journey, but please go away and take your husband with you. This is all a big, huge, terrible mistake.’ I was not really a grownup, I was newly a mother, and not in a great way, so that bright pink cover shining through the plastic wrapping was a beacon of light. But ultimately this is Rachel’s story, and as it unfolds, Keyes deftly draws parallels between her recovery and that of her patients, forcing her to reassess the progress she’s made and to confront painful truths about herself and her past. Marian Keyes (born 10 September 1963) is an Irish author and radio presenter. She is principally known for her popular fiction. Keyes' depressive period lasted about four years. During this time she also wrote The Mystery of Mercy Close, a novel in which the heroine experiences similar battles with depression and suicide attempts as those Keyes herself experienced. [9] As Keyes further describes this period of her life: "It was like being in an altered reality . . . I was always melancholic and prone to sadness and hopelessness but this was catastrophic and unimaginable."

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Marian Keyes always writes books that I want to listen to or read in one go. Thankfully they are long enough that it usually takes at least 2 days. As usual, I feel a little bereft when I have finished, but I know I will listen to it again. In 2019 the National Library of Ireland announced that the Keyes digital archive for her novel The Mystery of Mercy Close would be acquired by the Library as a pilot project for collecting " born digital" archives. [12]