Last but not least, the final blog tour of the evening is for a book that I found very touching; ‘I Found My Tribe’ by Ruth Fitzmaurice. Thank you, as always, to Anne Cater from #RandomThingsTours for the blog tour invite, and to Vintage Books for the ARC. Here is my review:
Ruth Fitzmaurice has two extraordinary families.
She has her husband Simon, a filmmaker with advanced Motor Neurone Disease who
can only communicate with his eyes via a computer. Together they have five children
under the age of 10, as well as Pappy, a cantankerous Basset Hound. They are kept
afloat by relentless army of nurses and carers that flows through their house in
Greystones, on the East Coast of Ireland.
And then there is Ruth’s other family – her Tribe of amazing women. Amidst the chaos
and the pain that rules their lives, The Tragic Wives Swimming Club congregate together
– in summer and winter, on golden afternoons and by the light of the moon – on the sea
steps at Women’s Cove. Day after day, they throw themselves into the freezing Irish sea.
In that moment, they are free. Later, they will share a thermos of tea, teeth chattering,
hands shaking, ready to take on the world once more.
An invocation to all of us to love as hard as we can, and live even harder, I Found My
Tribe is an urgent and uplifting letter to a husband, family, friends, the natural world and the brightness of life.
What does TWG think?
What can I say about ‘I Found My Tribe’? No, seriously, I’m genuinely asking! This is a book about one lady’s life as she watches the love of her life, her husband, lose his independence and ability to move, thanks to the nasty bastard that is Motor Neurone Disease. Having only heard of this illness and never really having the need to expand my knowledge on the subject, hearing about it first hand from someone whose life revolves around said disease is both eye-opening and devastating at the same time.
However, it isn’t just Ruth and Simon travelling on their MND journey, their five children (all very young) join them too. Whilst I believe that it must be such a difficult subject to discuss with young children who may not quite understand exactly what it is happening, I still feel that they’re all incredibly strong. Part of me feels patronising saying that, but it’s true. I cannot even begin to imagine what the family, and of course Simon, must go through on a day to day basis both physically, and emotionally. Even though the delivery of this novel wasn’t as flawlessly brought together like other memoirs I have read, it weirdly didn’t bother me as it was very clear that Ruth needed this book as her escape and her way of being able to bring awareness to such a devastating illness.
‘I Found My Tribe’ doesn’t just focus on Ruth’s husband, Simon, it highlights what Ruth was able to turn to in her hour of need. I know that Simon is the one with MND, but the psychological and emotional hurdles must knock Ruth for six.
The fact that Ruth had found her way to let off steam at such an emotional time, really did make my heart swell. Not only does she have to be strong for her husband, she also has to be strong for her children, making her abundantly aware that she cannot be strong if she doesn’t take the time out to re-energise, and what a way to do it.
‘I Found My Tribe’ left me with a lot to think about. This is an incredibly honest and moving memoir which not only manages to highlight the devastation one disease can bring, it also highlights how important it is to find something to hold onto when the seas get stormy. Or in Ruth’s case, finding her tribe so that they can swim together in those stormy seas.
I Found My Tribe will be published in paperback on the 28th June. You can pre-order and buy the e-copy here.
About the author.
Ruth Fitzmaurice was born in 1976 and grew up in Co. Louth,
Ireland. She was a radio researcher and producer when she married film director and
writer, Simon, in 2004 and had three children. In 2008, Simon was diagnosed with Motor
Neurone Disease and given three years to live. Simon went into respiratory failure in
2010 and was accidentally placed on a ventilator during an emergency procedure. He
decided, against medical advice, to keep the ventilator; Ruth and Simon went on to have
twins in 2012. In January 2016, Ruth wrote her first piece for the Irish Times about family life and a new passion, sea swimming. She lives in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, with her five children Jack, Raife, Arden, Sadie, Hunter, a dog and a cat. Simon passed away in
October 2017.
Twitter @RuthONeillFitz
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