What is Beautiful in the Sky

'In these strange days Michael Harding's route taking and wise words gently nudge us towards the future, steadying us as we navigate the great unknowns ahead' Joe Duffy

The bestselling new book from acclaimed writer and Irish Times columnist.

It's dawn and in the early morning light, Michael Harding is walking in his garden in the hills above Lough Allen in Leitrim, dreaming of the new beginning in Donegal he had planned before the world changed in the early months of 2020.

Here, in his stunning and intimate new book, we travel with Michael through this day as he looks back at a life lived within, and as part of, the Irish landscape. In doing so, he vividly brings to life what is at the heart of Irish identity: storytelling, love and human connection. With honesty, insight and tenderness, he shows that while everything has changed, that which is important remains the same; and how, in this new world, we can live with hope and faith in everything that is beautiful in the sky.

What is Beautiful in the Sky is an account of our times: a record of our past and a promise of new beginnings.

'This morning is special. The air is cleaner than it used to be. Birds sing with a deeper resonance. The apple trees shed their petals and fatten their fruit with an astonishing defiance; as if nature itself carried a coded message; everything will be OK in the end. Hope may seem lost with each new death but love has become more visible in every hospital corridor in the world.

"Let's begin again."

“Searingly honest, funny, self-deprecating, Harding's narrative seems to rest on the pulse of Ireland - Irish Times on On Tuesdays I'm a BuddhistA compelling memoir. Absorbing and graced with a deceptive lightness of touch ... Harding writes like an angel - Sunday Times on Hanging with the ElephantHilarious, and tender, and mad, and harrowing, and wistful, and always beautifully written, A wonderful book - Kevin Barry on Staring at LakesA book that champions the kindness (or at least the company of) strangers as essential for that elusive state known as happiness - RTE Guide on Talking to Strangers”

Searingly honest, funny, self-deprecating, Harding's narrative seems to rest on the pulse of Ireland - Irish Times on On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist

A compelling memoir. Absorbing and graced with a deceptive lightness of touch ... Harding writes like an angel - Sunday Times on Hanging with the Elephant

Hilarious, and tender, and mad, and harrowing, and wistful, and always beautifully written, A wonderful book - Kevin Barry on Staring at Lakes

A book that champions the kindness (or at least the company of) strangers as essential for that elusive state known as happiness - RTE Guide on Talking to Strangers

Michael Harding is an author and playwright. His creative chronicle of ordinary life in the Irish midlands is published as a weekly column in The Irish Times.

He is the author of five bestselling memoirs, including Chest Pain and the award-winning Staring at Lakes, as well as three novels (Priest, The Trouble with Sarah Gullion and Bird in the Snow) and numerous plays for the Abbey Theatre, including Una Pooka, Misogynist and Sour Grapes.

'In these strange days Michael Harding's route taking and wise words gently nudge us towards the future, steadying us as we navigate the great unknowns ahead' Joe Duffy The bestselling new book from acclaimed writer and Irish Times columnist. It's dawn and in the early morning light, Michael Harding is walking in his garden in the hills above Lough Allen in Leitrim, dreaming of the new beginning in Donegal he had planned before the world changed in the early months of 2020. Here, in his stunning and intimate new book, we travel with Michael through this day as he looks back at a life lived within, and as part of, the Irish landscape. In doing so, he vividly brings to life what is at the heart of Irish identity: storytelling, love and human connection. With honesty, insight and tenderness, he shows that while everything has changed, that which is important remains the same; and how, in this new world, we can live with hope and faith in everything that is beautiful in the sky. What is Beautiful in the Sky is an account of our times: a record of our past and a promise of new beginnings. 'This morning is special. The air is cleaner than it used to be. Birds sing with a deeper resonance. The apple trees shed their petals and fatten their fruit with an astonishing defiance; as if nature itself carried a coded message; everything will be OK in the end. Hope may seem lost with each new death but love has become more visible in every hospital corridor in the world. "Let's begin again."

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