Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

A Memoir

De: Séamas O'Reilly

Narrado por: Séamas O'Reilly

A heart-warming and hilarious family memoir of growing up as one of eleven siblings raised by a single dad in Northern Ireland at the end of the Troubles.

Séamas O’Reilly’s mother died when he was five, leaving him, his ten (!) brothers and sisters, and their beloved father in their sprawling bungalow in rural Derry. It was the 1990s; the Troubles were a background rumble, but Séamas was more preoccupied with dinosaurs, Star Wars, and the actual location of heaven than the political climate. ­

An instant bestseller in Ireland, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? is a book about a family of loud, argumentative, musical, sarcastic, grief-stricken siblings, shepherded into adulthood by a man whose foibles and reticence were matched only by his love for his children and his determination that they would flourish.

“In this joyous, wildly unconventional memoir, Séamas O'Reilly tells the story of losing his mother as a child and growing up with ten siblings in Northern Ireland during the final years of the Troubles as a raucous comedy, a grand caper that is absolutely bursting with life.”―Patrick Radden Keefe, NYT bestselling author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain One of NPR’s Best Books of the Year

©2022 Séamas O'Reilly (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Incredibly Well Written!

I left Ireland as a child and now live in the US. The humor and cynicism in which the Irish tell stories is unsurpassed. The author is a fabulous wordsmith!

Loved this

Thoughtful, funny, tender - really enjoyed the author reading his own material too. I really recommend this!

Raised by Dad Club

I’m really glad I listened to Seamus’s book. I also lost my mom to cancer as a child and I’ll be recommending it to my younger brothers, who were 5 and 2 at the time of her death. It’s a small club of us who were raised by single fathers and despite many differences in our families, there were also many similarities. Much love to Seamus and his family for sharing their story, grief, humor and healing.

Lovely memoir!

Loved every moment of this!! Had to rewind a few times due to the author’s Irish accent but did so happily because I didn’t want to miss a word!! Cheers to your spider father Joe!!

Absolutely beautiful.

Best audiobook this year for me. Colorful, imaginative, and I loved it. Quite a tribute to the author’s family.

Sneaky funny and heartwarming

Some great storytelling in here of a colorful family. Loved the inside jokes and gallows humor that reminds me of my family. One downside was it was a little hard to hear with how softly the narrator/author speaks.

As a member of the dead mom club

I can attest to the helpfulness and healing-ness of this book. If you want to get what it’s like to process grief as a modern catholic, or the descendent of one, this is the memoir for you.

Fabulous poignant laugh-out-loud story

So much truth here. Great Irish story-telling. Deepest of meanings. So glad to have come across this.

A wonderfully written heartfelt and heartwarming story

Thought I spent a fair amount of time, visiting Northern Ireland, and delighted in the many references and peculiar idiomatic speech, the story is one of universal appeal.

Best childhood memoir ever

I too lost my mom early and came at the end of a family of six. The author touched me in a way on this subject that I hadn’t really encountered before—with incredibly gifted and well earned humor. A must read. And listening to him read it was quintessential to the whole experience. Although, I have to admit, for the first time ever, I actually began to slow the recording to catch ever word. Utterly charming and oftentimes hilarious, yet poignant and achingly real.