Nature writer and essayist Kerri ní Dochartaigh was born in Derry, Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. The daughter of a Catholic mother and Protestant father, her childhood was one of trauma and violence. Struggling to identify with either side, her family were forced out of two homes and were also victim to a frightening petrol bomb attack. In her first book, Thin Places, ní Dochartaigh lays bare the ways in which these events affected her life. Weaving between two contrasting genres, nature writing and memoir, the book is an emotional history of the Troubles and an exploration into the comforting and healing power of the natural world. In today’s episode, the writer speaks to Róisín Ingle about the meaning of Thin Places and the idea that certain locations can make us feel closer to the other world. They also discuss her experiences growing up in the North, some serendipitous moments along the way and the meandering search for a sense of belonging.

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