He Used to Be Me by Anne Walsh Donnelly
‘I sit on the stone that will mark the bed of my bones. You’ll find the used-to-be-me, soon, flat body, washed up, wrinkly skin. No silly grin. You’ll say, What a waste of a life. Tut-tut sounds jump out. Dangle like worms from your crow’s mouth ...’
Meet Daft Matt, the Mayo man at the heart of this astonishing, form-bending story, as he wanders the streets of Castlebar in search of Devil’s feet – the claw marks of the cága, or jackdaws, who have spoken to him since he was a boy.
Yet Matt is anything but daft. In lyrical prose, Walsh Donnelly explores the complex workings of Matt’s inner life: how he deals with the loss of his twin brother as a child, navigates the carefree days of early manhood and copes with the aftermath of the horseriding accident that would see him incarcerated in the care system for the next thirty years. Richly imagined and beautifully written, this is a story for anyone who chooses to look beyond the surface of things.
‘I used to think those claws were the only things that kept me above sea-level.’
About the Author
Anne Walsh Donnelly lives in Mayo in the west of Ireland. She is the author of The Woman With An Owl Tattoo, a poetic memoir of her coming out journey in her fifties and the poetry collection, Odd as F*ck. She has been shortlisted for the Fish International Prize and the Frances MacManus competitions for her fiction and for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and the International Poetry Book Awards for her poetry. Poetry Ireland in conjunction with Mayo Arts Office appointed her as Poet Laureate for the town of Belmullet in Co Mayo in 2021.
Praise for He Used to Be Me
‘Every town has marginalised figures, roaming the streets for so long as to be barely noticed. Anne Walsh Donnelly’s sublime achievement is to reclaim one such man’s past by allowing him space to articulate his story in a unique and fragmented manner. It allows decades of memories to unfold and his humanity to shine through in words that do justice to his suffering and to his deep love and longing for those whom he has lost.’
— Dermot Bolger
‘The story is beautifully and imaginatively told, using language that is poetic and profound, yet is instantly accessible. It is deeply sad, but strangely life-affirming at the same time.’
— Kevin Powderly, writing.ie
‘He Used to Be Me swoops around the reader in a loose, raw, agile flurry. Walsh Donnelly’s language is crisp and stylish, and Matt’s story is one stuffed with both humour and deep poignancy. A fresh, melancholic hybrid – part prose-poem, part grief narrative – this book will sing to the hearts of fans of Max Porter and Pat McCabe.’
— Nuala O'Connor, author of NORA
‘He Used to Be Me is an exquisite piece of art. The writing is crisp and poetic. It’s a story of heartache and magic, and the inner workings of a mind on the edge. This is a man who is so original and yet recognisable, the person who rarely makes it into literature, yet lives on the fringes of many communities. An intense burst of a life that will carry you not just along but within it.’
— Alice Kinsella, author of 'Milk: On Motherhood and Madness
Publisher: New Island Books
Date Published: 9 February 2024
Paperback, 128 pages.
ISBN: 9781848409071
