The Slow Road North

How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country

From the acclaimed author of the “wonderfully funny and openhearted” (NPR) Drinking with Men comes a poignant, wrenching, and ultimately hopeful book—equal parts memoir and social history—that follows the author, after a series of tragic losses, to Northern Ireland, where she finds a path toward healing.

Rosie Schaap had a solid career as a journalist and a life that looked to others like nonstop fun: all drinking and dining and traveling to beautiful places—and getting paid to write about it. But under the surface she was reeling from the loss of her husband and her mother—who died just one year apart. Caring for them had claimed much of her daily life in her late thirties. Her healing journey while mourning them would take longer.

It wasn’t until a reporting trip took her to the Northern Irish countryside that Rosie found a partner to heal with: Glenarm, a quiet, seaside village in County Antrim. That first visit made such an impression she returned, deciding on a life-changing move to Ireland. This unlikely place—in a small, tough country mainly associated with sectarian strife—gave her a measure of peace that had seemed impossible elsewhere.

Weaving personal narrative and social history in this unforgettable grief memoir, The Slow Road North is a moving and wise look at how finding community can offer the key to healing. It’s a portrait of a complicated place at a pivotal time—through Brexit, a historic school integration, and a pandemic—and a love letter to a village and a culture.

How does a quiet village in a complicated country become the key to one woman’s healing?

• A Journey of Love and Loss: Follows author Rosie Schaap as she navigates the devastating loss of her husband and mother, who died only a year apart.
• From Brooklyn to a Seaside Village: Discover how a reporting trip to the Northern Irish countryside leads to a life-changing move from a bustling career in New York to the quiet village of Glenarm.
• Finding Peace in an Unlikely Place: A portrait of a complicated country through a pivotal time, showing how a place mainly associated with sectarian strife can offer unexpected solace.
• A Love Letter to Northern Ireland: Weaves personal narrative with social history, exploring how the culture and community of one small village offered the key to healing.

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