I thought of life's many bounties, to have known the extremities of joy and sorrow, love, success and failure, fame and slaughter, to have read in the newspapers that as a writer I was past my sell-by date, yet regardless, to go on writing and reading, to be lucky enough to live in these two intensities that have buttressed my whole life.

Paperback edition of the autobiography from one of the greatest names in 20th century literature. O'Brien describes her childhood in Ireland, her move to London, and her literary life of high drama and encounters with Hollywood giants, pop stars and literary titans. 'Wonderful, crystaline and true.' Rachel Cooke, "Observer"