Holding Her Breath: A Novel

“A joy to read. ... Emotional, clever, and humorous, Holding Her Breath will engross readers with its academic atmosphere and family drama.” — Booklist 
A moving and “whip smart” (Sunday Telegraph) debut novel, following a former competitive swimmer and granddaughter of a famous Irish poet as she comes of age in the shadow of her family’s tragic past, perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, Lily King’s Writers & Lovers, and Elif Batuman’s The Idiot. 
Recommended by Glamour * The Millions * Literary Hub * PopSugar 
When Beth Crowe starts university, she is haunted by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. With her Olympic dreams shattered after a breakdown, she is suddenly free to create a fresh identity for herself outside of swimming. Striking up a friendship with her English major roommate, Beth soon finds herself among a literary crowd of people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. Beth’s mother and grandmother rarely talk about what happened to Benjamin, and Beth is unsettled to find that her classmates may know more about her own family history than she does. 
As the year goes on, Beth embarks on a secret relationship with an older postdoctoral researcher—and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows. 
Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving, and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition, and grief—and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

Literature & Fiction

Ryan, Eimear

Literary

Mariner Books

"A joy to read. ... Emotional, clever, and humorous,&nbsp;Holding Her Breath&nbsp;will engross readers with its academic atmosphere and family drama." --&nbsp;Booklist A moving and "whip smart" (Sunday Telegraph)&nbsp;debut novel, following a former competitive swimmer and granddaughter of a famous Irish poet as she comes of age in the shadow of her family's tragic past, perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, Lily King's Writers & Lovers, and Elif Batuman's&nbsp;The Idiot. Recommended by Glamour * The Millions * Literary Hub * PopSugar When Beth Crowe starts university, she is haunted by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. With her Olympic dreams shattered after a breakdown, she is suddenly free to create a fresh identity for herself outside of swimming. Striking up a friendship with her English major roommate, Beth soon finds herself among a literary crowd of people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. Beth's mother and grandmother rarely talk about what happened to Benjamin, and Beth is unsettled to find that her classmates may know more about her own family history than she does. As the year goes on, Beth embarks on a secret relationship with an older postdoctoral researcher--and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows. Holding Her Breath&nbsp;is a razor-sharp, moving, and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition, and grief--and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

Cora Staunton is an elite sportswoman: winner of four All-Irelands, 11 All-Stars and five Club All-Irelands. She is a trailblazer in the Australian Football League, and a hero in her native Mayo for her gaelic football skills. But it's been a long and eventful road for Cora. When she was young, she was small for her age, and had to prove herself at every level: to the boys in her club, to the Mayo selectors who took a chance on her as a teenager, but most importantly to herself. From Croke Park to the stadiums of Sydney, Cora has proved herself to be a master of the game. This is the story of how a young football-mad girl became a living legend. A story of female empowerment for younger readers.

Cora Staunton: Great Irish Sports Stars

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

The O'Brien Press

'A book which will very soon be acknowledged as a classic of Irish sportswriting' Ciarán Murphy What is it like to be female in a male-dominated sporting world? If you play with the boys, more people pay attention - but you get treated like an alien. Playing with other girls or women means you have to accept smaller audiences, diminished status and - for professionals - lower pay. And what if, as is the case for camogie player Eimear Ryan, your sport has a completely different name when women play it? What if you don't feel entirely comfortable in an all-female sporting environment because you're shy, bookish, not really one of the girls? In The Grass Ceiling, acclaimed novelist Eimear Ryan digs deep into the confluence of gender and sport, and all the questions it throws up about identity, status, competition and self-expression. At a time when women's sport is on the rise but still a long way from equality, it is a sharp, nuanced and heartfelt exploration of questions that affect everyone who loves sport. Praise for The Grass Ceiling 'A gorgeous memoir about a life lived in sport, specifically a female, Irish rural life. I read it in two sittings.' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times 'A love letter to the GAA and a diatribe against the idea sport is not for women' Kathleen McNamee, Irish Times 'Brilliant ... Ryan's bold and deep search into so many of those internalised questions provides a fascinating collage of emotional detail' Christy O'Connor, Irish Examiner 'Lyrical, urgent, wise and bracing' Irish Times

The Grass Ceiling: On Being a Woman in Sport

Penguin

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Books by Ryan, Eimear

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ryan, Eimear. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Holding Her Breath: A Novel

Holding Her Breath: A Novel

Cora Staunton: Great Irish Sports Stars

The Grass Ceiling: On Being a Woman in Sport