Other People's Lives

by Kathleen MacMahon

‘I found myself taking screenshots to send to friends because MacMahon nails it over and over again’ Claire Kilroy

‘Incisive, witty and tender, there’s not a woman in the country who won’t relate to this fine and thought-provoking novel.’ Christine Dwyer Hickey

‘MacMahon is an astute chronicler of modern life’ David Park

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‘Marriage was the biggest decision of their lives and yet they made it so lightly it was barely a decision at all’

As schoolgirls, Justine and her best friend Iseult dreamed of a future that revolved around marriage. They saw it as a happy ending, never imagining for a moment that the reality would be more complicated.

Coming up to fifty, they're still best friends. Justine has been married to Iseult’s brother for twenty-five years and lives in her childhood home. Iseult has spent her adult life abroad, her marriage clearly unhappy for reasons she won't discuss.

When Justine’s daughter suddenly announces her engagement, Justine is thrown into planning a big family wedding. Afraid that her daughter is making a mistake, she finds herself questioning the choices she and Iseult made. It's a crisis of confidence that tests her in surprising and transformational ways.

From the Women’s Prize longlisted author of Nothing But Blue Sky and The Home Scar, Other People’s Lives is a captivating story about the decisions we make in a heartbeat, and their lifelong consequences.

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‘A book to inhale’ Belinda McKeon

'Warm-hearted and relatable, perfectly captures the messiness of modern family life' Aingeala Flannery

‘Beautiful’ Hilary Fannin

‘Thoughtful and provocative, a beautifully narrated story of friendship and marriage’ Anna Fitzgerald

'Simply exquisite. MacMahon is one of Ireland's finest writers.’ Anne Griffin

‘Perceptive, tender, astute, beguiling’ Martina Devlin

‘I really and truly loved this tender, deeply satisfying novel’ Orla Mackey

‘So beautifully observed, so penetrating, so coolly aware of the texture of people’s lives.’ Neil Hegarty

‘This wise, truthful novel explores brilliantly all the complexity of women's lives’ Anne Tiernan

‘Thought-provoking and utterly absorbing’ Sinéad Crowley

Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 21, 2026

About the author

Kathleen MacMahon is an award-winning television journalist with Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, where she reports on the major international stories. The grand-daughter of the distinguished short story writer Mary Lavin, Kathleen lives in Dublin with her husband and twin daughters. THIS IS HOW IT ENDS is her first novel.

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, lyrical story that feels both specific and relatable. In many ways, the central relationship reminded me of 'My Brilliant Friend'. I really loved being inside Justine's head – I felt like her personality was incredibly well observed and not a 'type' of woman often represented in fiction. I also found the style that fragmented between present and past extremely effective, although I did have a sense that the narrative was building to some larger revelation that was somewhat frustrated by the end. My only major complaint would be the characterisation of Iseult –I feel like Justine, Moira and Lolly were all given so much more empathy and internality while Iseult remained cold and distanced from the reader and the novel finished without much actual insight into her descision-making. Also, we were frequently told how they were such great friends who could talk for days but I feel that as a reader I was never quite convinced of or fully shown their closeness.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written like all her books. You really feel for Justine who has a good life, but doesn’t feel like she’s done enough or what she does is appreciated by her friends and family.

She is also a councillor so hears the private complaints from many women about their relationships but sometimes can’t square that with how they act outside of those sessions. The complexity of other people’s lives and if it’s possible to understand them is examined throughout but without moralising.

The contrast to her best friend is interesting and the relationships with the grown up children is well observed.

A gentle book on the surface to read with hidden depths building to a satisfying end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sandcove for the arc