A warm and appealing debut about family, friendships and love, of difficult decisions and lifelong consequences from one of Ireland’s best known radio presenters. Going Back follows Elizabeth Kelly and her friends, young economic migrants from Dublin, as they escape for a summer in Boston in 1988. Twenty years later as opportunities are scarce once again, the next generation look to Boston, awakening memories of a life-changing golden summer for their parents. This is a perfect combination of humour, heartache and surprises that would be great as a summer read.
In the summer of 1988, Elizabeth Kelly and her friends leave recession-hit Ireland for a summer of adventure and opportunity in Boston. The next four months change all of them, especially Elizabeth. Quiet and dutiful at home, she surprises herself and everyone else by falling for Danny Esposito, a restless charmer with a troublesome family. More than twenty years later with opportunities in Ireland scarce once again, a new generation looks to America, awakening memories of a golden summer for their parents. When a crisis occurs, Elizabeth returns to Boston where she is drawn back into the life she once lived. But will she be able to reconcile the dreams of her twenty-year-old self with the woman she has become?
Rachael English is a presenter on Ireland's most popular radio show, Morning Ireland. During more than twenty years as a journalist, she has worked on most of RTE Radio's leading current affairs programmes, covering a huge range of national and international stories. Going Back is her first novel.
