I've never read anything like The Black Pool. There are spiritual echoes of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, and of Sylvia Plath's jocose auto-fictional revelations of her efforts to die and to live, but these sentences are all Tim MacGabhann's own, and each one is a joyful thrill. I was floored by the power and beauty of this book' Donal Ryan, author of The Queen of Dirt Island

'Raw and powerful' Irish Times, Books to look out for in 2025

'A vibrant, darkly humorous writer' Irish Independent, Non-fiction highlights for 2025

'A gripping and personal story of addiction' Irish Examiner, 2025 Books to Read

'Unflinchingly honest, heart-wrenching and life-affirming' RTÉ, 10 books we're looking forward to reading in 2025

A raw and powerful memoir of addiction and recovery, across three continents and multiple drugs, from early childhood through adulthood.

Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping thrill-ride through violent, chaotic underworlds. Tracing the roots of an illness through the failures of youth and adolescence and finally back to childhood, it's about all the wrong places where addicts look for transcendence - from work, to relationships, to writing, to anger.

It shows what happens when everything falls apart. It shows us rock bottom and the start of the journey to recovery from there. It's a memoir shot full of holes and shocking clarities. And towards the end, it achieves something like serenity - something like recovery.