This is the first I've read from O'Donoghue, although admittedly I've had Sister Agatha sat on my Kindle for an age...note to self...must read soon!

It's told across past and present allowing us to revisit the day that changed everything. As Connie finds out, it takes mere seconds for life to be changed irrevocably.

How far should a mother's love for her child go? With long buried secrets and an assuage of guilt can Connie ever be happy?

Connie is a complex character and one I easily became emotionally invested in.

Her story is powerful, provokes thought and stays with you long after reading.

This book was very slow moving and I found myself only starting to enjoy it in the last 20% of the book. It took me a whole month to read and put me into a reading slump which I'm still struggling to come out of now. While the storyline picked up towards the end it was a very difficult read for me so don't have much more to say on this.

Tragic story of a mother's fall from grace👩‍👦🏉

O'Donoghue's story of devoted single mom Connie and her promising rugby star son Liam moved me. The alternating then and now timeline for the day things went from great to abysmal in their lives and the aftermath two years later really worked for bringing suspense to this tale of motherly love and Connie's capacity for sacrifice and atonement. It's fairly short, easy to read, but it packs on the emotions as Connie deals with life in the aftermath of a day full of bad judgment that changes so many lives.

Enjoyed the author's writing so much I have already sought out a couple more of his works.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 6/17/25 on Goodreads and Bookbub, and with Barnes & Noble, kobo and BAM.

i was so taken in by this book. it was so full of emotional feelings that i did indeed have to pause to sit with parts id read. but then i know i would be continuing soon after. i was in, totally in to this woman's life and how she leapt, cried, and hurt off the page to me. i wanted to hold her tight and listen to her so she could let it all out, let it all go. and then i had to continue so i could find out just how this would play out. i want to say i needed to know she was ok. but from the bits id read already "being ok" sounds too simplistic for such feeling, such love, such life we needed to watch and learn from first.
i dont want to give too much away, or anything at all for this one. because it needs to be met by you readers head on, fresh and new like it did me. i want you all to come to Connie and have your heart taken away with her just as i did.
now its not to say its too heavy. it isn't at all. its real. and the topics are important and handled with compassion and sensitivity they need.
i just loved this book. i loved it so much.

Approaching her own 40th birthday and the launching of her son, Liam's, career as a rugby player, Connie is looking forward to "new beginnings." Told in two timelines, the joint party for Connie and Liam, and then 2 years later, the reader slowly unwinds the tragic events that do bring new beginnings to everyone, but not in the way Connie had hoped for. At the very beginning I was getting the timelines confused, despite very clear chapter headings. But, things started to fall into place for me and I could not only feel a sense of foreboding but could also feel the strong love between Connie and Liam. This was a powerful story of love, loss, and forgiveness. While too heavy a story for a beach/vacation read, this is still a book worth the read!

This is a stunningly beautiful read that handles hard hitting topics but does it in such a beautiful way. I couldn't put it down and felt bereft when it had finished

The (Wonderful) Life of Connie Maguire by Domhnall O’Donoghue shook the ground beneath my feet.

It stirred all kinds of emotions, and it epitomized a literary vessel for love, guilt, redemption, motherhood, and altruism.

Furthermore, it tackled addiction and mental health issues in a sensitive and thoughtful manner.

The revelation near the end of the book took me by surprise and, subsequently, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my e-ARC.