Where Grieving Begins : Building Bridges After the Brighton Bomb - A Memoir

An enduring peace is only possible through a genuine understanding of the past. To understand the Troubles is to set them in the context of the historical root causes of the conflict, in order to grapple with its pain and its horrors; to grieve and then, perhaps, to heal.

Where Grieving Begins is the memoir of Patrick Magee, the man who planted the 1984 Brighton bomb – an attempt by the Provisional IRA to kill the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her cabinet. In an unflinching reckoning with the past, Magee recounts the influences and events of his life. He chronicles the profound experience of meeting Jo Berry – whose father was one of five people killed – and the extraordinary work they have done together.

A chasm of misunderstanding endures around the Troubles and the history of British rule in Ireland. This memoir builds a bridge to a common understanding. It is written in the belief that much is possible, even in the face of profound differences, when there is a genuine commitment to honesty, inclusion and dialogue.