Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. So, you know, those stories you have

in your back pocket to tell at, like, dinner parties or family gatherings or something? Those

interesting or funny anecdotes that you've got down all the big, important parts and know all the

punchlines and stuff. Today's author, James O'Reilly, just wrote this memoir called Did You Hear Mamie

died? And he says that writing a memoir is about leaning into those stories and figuring out the

truth behind them. It's an interesting way of framing a memoir, especially one about a pretty

bumpy childhood. But in this interview with NPR Scott Simon, it comes across that for all

the grief and tragedy in his stories,

there's always an awful lot of love.

Amario Glass.

On this American life, we tell real life stories, really good ones.

My mother said, I'm sorry that you weren't here because Father Sager was here visiting,

and he found a very nice orphanage for you. And I said, but I'm not an orphan.

Surprising stories in your podcast feed, This American Live.

If you're five years old when you lose your mother, when people with red eyes and hushed voices start to fill your house,

but you've never been to awake.

What do you say when they stick out their hands?

Did you hear Mammy died?

Seamus O'Reilly's funny and sweet, sometimes scalding and sarcastic memoir,

recounting what it was like to be a little boy living through loss.

Doing that is one of 11 siblings in rural dairy during the times of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Mr. O'Reilly, who's a columnist for The Observer, and Irish Tatler joins us from London. Thank you so much

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