Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A moving novel about the bonds between a mother and a daughter - even when they have been estranged for years - and incorporated into this novel are some of the actual letters which O'Brien's mother wrote her. SIGNED on the title page. Irish President (and poet) Michael Higgins called her "a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed. Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna OÕBrien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society." 294 pp. ISBN: 0-618718672.