Acknowledgements
THANKS ESPECIALLY TO my brother Brendan, and to all Nellie’s family, relations, neighbours and friends in Cavan who supported her with love through the years. Special thanks to the home help, care workers, Health Service personnel and Active Age volunteers who sustained her when she lived at Glenasmole, and to the staff of Newbrook Nursing Home in Mullingar for their immeasurable kindness in her final journey. Thanks to my partner Cathy for her love and wisdom, and to Sophia for brightening up so many birthdays for her granny. Thanks also to Simon Carman, Philomena Brown, Kathleen and Ann McGrenra, and to so many more who constructed a fabric of love and kindness over the years around the person we all knew as ‘Nellie’.
It was a privilege to work again with Ciara Doorley, editor at Hachette Ireland, whose insight and skill guided me in the writing of this book, and I thank her for her faith and encouragement. And thanks to my agent Jonathan Williams for his vigilance as always with the text, and to Jenny in Scollans who made all the dinners.
Hanging with the Elephant: A Story of Love, Loss and Meditation Page 21