Matchstick Man

Description: Julia Kelly met a charismatic and successful artist, Charlie Whisker, while she was working on her first novel. He was twenty years older than her. Their relationship was passionate and extraordinary; each of them inspired the other. Their friends were writers, artists and rock stars; they lived a glamorous life of exhibitions, parties and concerts. They became parents to a daughter they adored. But Charlie suddenly changed, becoming hopelessly forgetful, angry and confused. This is an unbearably honest, unsentimental and heartbreaking description of a brilliant man's mental disintegration and its effects on his family. Charlie's disturbing behaviour is described in a series of terrible, understated revelations. An unforgettable telling of a story that will be familiar to many thousands of people in the UK and Ireland.

Review: '[A] candid, affecting and beautifully written account of living with Alzheimer's' The Bookseller.

Author Biography: Julia Kelly was born in 1969 and studied English, Sociology and Journalism in Dublin. Her novels include With my Lazy Eye and The Playground. She lives in Dalkey, County Dublin.