A posthumous memoir written by Keelin Shanley will be released in October of this year, it has been announced.
Journalist Keelin Shanley, who was a presenter on the RTE Six One News, passed away in February of this year after a battle with cancer. Today, Gill Books have announced that she had been writing a memoir during her final months which will now be published under the title A Light That Never Goes Out.
Speaking about the publication, Commissioning Editor Deirdre Nolan said: "Keelin got in touch with me in December last year. She was nearing the end and strongly felt she wanted to leave a record of her life behind and we were honoured to help her do so. We put her together with writer Alison Walsh and she helped Keelin write a most extraordinary memoir. It is so rare to have such an insight into what someone who is facing death is thinking and feeling, and despite the gravity of the situation she was facing, through her writing Keelin has managed to capture the fleeting beauty of life in way that is awe-inspiring and ultimately uplifting."
A snippet of the introduction to Keelin's book, in which she describes how she came to terms with her diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 51, has also been revealed. It reads: 'I realised that I am still Keelin Shanley: I still am that person, in spite of everything. In spite of the wig, the scarves, the IV lines, the tests, mum, wife, news presenter, daughter, sister, stepdaughter – I am all of those things. And that’s why I decided to write this book: to remind me of who I am, and to leave those who love me something to hold on to.’
A Light That Never Goes Out will be released on Friday, October 2 and will be priced at €19.99. You can read about it in more detail
here.
