Niklas Pivic ( @pivic ) is a lucky reader who got his hands on an advance copy of Gabriel Byrne’s new book. He shared this short excerpt on Twitter last month and I’m sharing it with you now because oh, the waiting! heart

An Excerpt

–Fame, Burton said, doesn’t change who you are, it changes others. It is a sweet poison you drink of first in eager gulps. Then you come to loathe it.

I’m rather ashamed to be an actor sometimes. I’ve done the most appalling shit for money.

I detest the self mirrored back to me by others. It’s a kind of fractured reality. I can’t see me.
But this Jameson’s makes sense of everything, for the moment. And poetry, the sound and music of words sooth me, always have. And books.
Home is where the books are, he said.
What I’ve always rather wanted was to be a writer, perhaps it’s too late now.
I am at an age, he said quietly, when I fear dying in a hotel room on a film.
How’s your lip? he asked, as we bade good night at the door.
–I think Doctor Jameson has me sorted, I said.
–Give it all you’ve got but never forget it’s just a bloody movie, that’s all it is. We’re not curing cancer. Remember.

I’ve made over eighty films since then and I’ve never forgotten those words.

He didn’t die in a hotel room but at home in bed, halfway through a volume of the Elizabethan poets.

–an excerpt from Walking With Ghosts, by Gabriel Byrne

We wait–and wouldn’t it be great if this place were real?

5 Comments

  1. Thank you Stella for sharing this glimpse into Walking with Ghosts. What a gift.

  2. this is exciting, I like his humor… Thanks for the report

  3. Can’t wait. This book sounds much more deeper look into his thoughts and being.

  4. On Fri, Nov 20, Gabriel will discuss Walking with Ghosts online. For tickets access the link below.
    https://dinglelit.ie/gabriel-byrne/

    While awaiting the release of his latest memoir, give yourself the gift of his first: Pictures in My Head. The audio version’s amazing —such a masterful storyteller and actor!

  5. DORA BARALIA

    Dear Stella thanks for this special gift … I am sure that all us have a great expectation for this special book … and all of us are waiting to have this book in our hands to enjoy it … I am so anxious to have it … my best feelings for all you …

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