Bookclub Event: Nora Webster, by Colm Toibin

Wednesday 16th May

Bookclub Event: Nora Webster, by Colm Toibin 
Paul Terry

Nora Webster took Colm Toibin thirteen years to write during which he completed several other novels including Brooklyn which won the Costa book prize.  He said he struggled with Nora Webster because it was so closely based on his personal experience of loss and grief. He was twelve when his father died.  He felt unable to put any feelings into words, but he was a most observant twelve year old.  The novel is a beautifully written account of a young widow’s experience after her husband’s death leaving her with two young children.  It is the interiority of her experience and the depth of understanding of grief that makes this a remarkable book.

Paul Terry is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in private practice.  He was previously lecturer for the Diploma, MSc, Introductory and Certificate Counselling courses at Birkbeck.  In tandem with teaching Paul worked until recently for the NHS, latterly in a Community Mental Health Team for Older People.

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