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Show Me Where It Hurts

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Show Me Where It Hurts

By: Claire Gleeson
Narrated by: Heather O'Sullivan
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About this listen

 'A searingly beautiful novel'
Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

'Outstanding, and has lingered in my head for a very long time'
Prima

How do you survive the unsurvivable?

Rachel lives with her husband Tom and their two children: it's the ordinary family life she always thought she'd have. All of that changes in an instant - when Tom runs the family car off the road, seeking to end his own life, and take his wife and children with him. Rachel is left to pore over the wreckage to try and understand what happened - to find a way to go on living afterwards.

What emerges is a snapshot of what it's like to live alongside someone who is suffering, how you keep yourself afloat when the person you love is drowning, and how you survive irreparable loss.

Impossible to turn away from, Show Me Where It Hurts is a compelling, heartbreaking and ultimately life-affirming story of recovery and unexpected hope.©2025 Claire Gleeson (P)2025 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Marriage

Critic reviews

With gentle and lulling prose, Show Me Where It Hurts is exceptional in its exploration of the grief and recovery from something unthinkable. This is simply an exquisite novel. (Anne Griffin, author of When All Is Said)
Exceptional. Also brave. One of those novels that, afterwards, makes me think not just about the story itself, but also about why we read, and the role of fiction. (Florence Knapp, author of The Names)
This thoughtful and imaginative debut glows with emotional insight and heft. It tackles a difficult and rarely discussed subject in an engaging, clear-slighted and highly readable way (Henrietta McKervey, author of A Talented Man)
All stars
Most relevant
I liked the idea of the story and the main character. In parts it was really good.

Mother’s Love

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The storyline is a pathway through the unthinkable but also gives clear guidance,lif it walsl heeded, to recognise red flags, giving good advice ignored. Ms gleeson has done an aldmirralble job.

Overall a welcome, knowing and timely look at this dreadful and ever more familiar phenomenon.

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This book, despite having a sad storyline, was absolutely excellent. The narration is really good and the writing wonderful; expressive, perceptive and moving. I loved this listen.

Wonderful Listen

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I liked the way it was done, like before and after, the happyish ending, the Irish isums, The reader has a lovely voice making it easy to listen.
Would have liked to have more about how it all happened as I don’t think there was enough of this, I hope I didn’t miss it as I would listen at bed time and could have fallen asleep.
It was recommended to me by my book club in Kilteel where the author visited last month, thanks for your time, I will recommend this book

I liked the pace and the descriptions, and the Irishness

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this book was highly recommended and I was anxious to listen to it. the beginning of the story was riveting as the horror unfolded, the pain and disbelief of such a deliberate act. I disliked the speed and passage of timeline post the accident....I can imagine that as a debut novel there was an anxiety for a happy ending....I think in doing so, much was skimmed over and the characters were less fleshed out. I'm completely open to being wrong on this but I was Disappointed by the timeline of the story. as a nurse myself I didn't believe her irritability with her husbands struggle with his mental health....sorry.

brilliant idea, very disappointed with the timeline

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