Still - A Memoir

by Julia Kelly

Julia Kelly's mother, Delphine, spent much of her life in the shadows as a politician's wife, tending selflessly to the needs of her husband, John, and five wild children. Rattling around in a draughty house, the siblings – though much-loved – are left largely to their own devices, tended to by a series of hapless au-pairs, dodging mouse invasions and forever in search of their exhausted mother's attention.

When John collapses of a heart attack at the age of fifty-nine, it is a sad liberation for his wife. Unshackled from her domestic duties, Delphine undergoes a transformation. She embraces sea-swimming and, along with a coterie of elderly ladies, sets out on adventures to far-flung places. Her final journey is to the Galapagos Islands where, hit by an unexpected wave, she loses her balance and is forced underwater. When her body surfaces she is no longer breathing. The book left on her bedside locker in the hotel is 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Mired in grief, the five siblings begin the long repatriation of their mother's body. But it is the post-mortem report that provides the key to Julia's healing and gradually, within the clinical descriptions of limbs and eyes, heart and toes, Julia finds solace. Taking inspiration from each body part, she breathes life into Delphine – finally still and fully present for the first time in her seventy-two years – in gorgeous, luminous prose.

What leaps from the pages of STILL is someone a vibrant, complex woman, whose endless capacity for love continues to inspire and comfort. In the end, She died as she had always strived to in the middle of a huge adventure, diving into the great unknown.

 

Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2025

About the author

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Reviews

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this one. The story follows a woman in her sixties mourning the death of her mother - a common life experience at this age, yet it’s treated like a unique tragedy. We're walked through her hardship of growing up on Ailesbury road depicting daily family life. After pocketing a fortune from selling the mansion - she tears through the million-euro inheritance, then acts shocked when it’s gone. Well yeah, you spent it. There’s a subplot about trying for a baby with a partner suffering from dementia. The storyline sometimes felt like a slow-moving pity party.

There are moments of strong writing. She’s occasionally funny – even mentions someone compares her to James Joyce at one point, which gave me a chuckle. The bond with her Mam in daily family life is depicted in detail. That’s the real heart of the book. But overall, the lack of self-awareness and the sense of entitlement made this a tough read. Just not for me.

[Marie O'Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Kelly has written a sensitive and loving tribute to her mother, Delphine, who died in a tragic drowning accident. Julia remembers the dedicated politician's wife constrained by the mundane domestic duties of a mother of 5 children who, when widowed, embraced learning and world-wide travels. Beautiful writing.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange memoir based on the autopsy report. Very physical but also tender