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Aches & Pains
It's the perfect Laughter, the best medicine! From beloved author Maeve Binchy.
Maeve Binchy has captured the hearts of millions with her spectacular national bestsellers, from Circle of Friends to Tara Road . Now she applies her signature warmth, wit, and understanding to something new--a wickedly funny book for anyone who's checked into the hospital, headed for an operation, or convalesced at home.
Drawing on her own experiences as a patient, Maeve Binchy, together with artist Wendy Shea, has created this wry, deliciously illustrated book of wit and wisdom, a hilarious insider's guide to hospital stays and at-home convalescence. Filled with Maeve's candid real-life anecdotes and laugh-out-loud advice--plus Wendy Shea's irreverent drawings-- Aches & Pains is just what the doctor ordered!
Ten little jobs you can give to anyone who "How can I help?"
Outrageous ways to take advantage of your weakened state.
Things to say to annoy the patient in the next bed.
Dignified ways to cope with all the indignities of baring your body to strangers.
Great gifts to suggest when someone "What can I bring you?"
Tips on dealing with visitors...and hospital food. Plus recipes, poems, home remedies, and more!
The author's royalties for this book will be donated to the Arthritis Foundation.
Maeve Binchy has captured the hearts of millions with her spectacular national bestsellers, from Circle of Friends to Tara Road . Now she applies her signature warmth, wit, and understanding to something new--a wickedly funny book for anyone who's checked into the hospital, headed for an operation, or convalesced at home.
Drawing on her own experiences as a patient, Maeve Binchy, together with artist Wendy Shea, has created this wry, deliciously illustrated book of wit and wisdom, a hilarious insider's guide to hospital stays and at-home convalescence. Filled with Maeve's candid real-life anecdotes and laugh-out-loud advice--plus Wendy Shea's irreverent drawings-- Aches & Pains is just what the doctor ordered!
Ten little jobs you can give to anyone who "How can I help?"
Outrageous ways to take advantage of your weakened state.
Things to say to annoy the patient in the next bed.
Dignified ways to cope with all the indignities of baring your body to strangers.
Great gifts to suggest when someone "What can I bring you?"
Tips on dealing with visitors...and hospital food. Plus recipes, poems, home remedies, and more!
The author's royalties for this book will be donated to the Arthritis Foundation.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 1999
42 people are currently reading
695 people want to read
About the author
Maeve Binchy
258 books5,030 followersAnne Maeve Binchy Snell was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. Her novels were characterised by a sympathetic and often humorous portrayal of small-town life in Ireland, and surprise endings. Her novels, which were translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her death at age 73, announced by Vincent Browne on Irish television late on 30 July 2012, was mourned as the death of one of Ireland's best-loved and most recognisable writers.
She appeared in the US market, featuring on The New York Times Best Seller list and in Oprah's Book Club. Recognised for her "total absence of malice" and generosity to other writers, she finished third in a 2000 poll for World Book Day, ahead of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Stephen King.
She appeared in the US market, featuring on The New York Times Best Seller list and in Oprah's Book Club. Recognised for her "total absence of malice" and generosity to other writers, she finished third in a 2000 poll for World Book Day, ahead of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Stephen King.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 15, 2019
This was a cute little book. Anecdotes on handy things to say and do, or not to do when visiting loved ones in hospital, or when in hospital yourself. Very short and narrated by a lady with a lovely Irish accent, it was a joy to listen to. I'd listen to anything written by Maeve Binchy, and I am glad I read this little one. It even included a humorous story on a lady trying to give up the drink. Maeve fans will be delighted with this one, I'm sure.
July 18, 2025
Read as an Audiobook via BolindaAudio BorrowBox
This was a very short funny, non fiction book, mostly to do with being in hospital but there were snippets of other "getting older" aches and pains scenarios. Almost like a "how to do" book as you nod knowingly of oh been there done that.
Words that took my fancy
"Talking book" (which is an audiobook these days) probably dates to how old this was written.
"A drab hospital, wear a pink cardigan"
"Chain letters" who remembers these? Yes, showing my age now.
"10 wonderful things about giving up drink"
"I used to think the kidneys is in the knickers area but they are not"
The narrator to this book really brought this hilarious piece of creative writing from Maeve Binchy to life and showed how the tone was set for the whole book.
Duration time - 1 hour, 40 minutes.
This was a very short funny, non fiction book, mostly to do with being in hospital but there were snippets of other "getting older" aches and pains scenarios. Almost like a "how to do" book as you nod knowingly of oh been there done that.
Words that took my fancy
"Talking book" (which is an audiobook these days) probably dates to how old this was written.
"A drab hospital, wear a pink cardigan"
"Chain letters" who remembers these? Yes, showing my age now.
"10 wonderful things about giving up drink"
"I used to think the kidneys is in the knickers area but they are not"
The narrator to this book really brought this hilarious piece of creative writing from Maeve Binchy to life and showed how the tone was set for the whole book.
Duration time - 1 hour, 40 minutes.
June 21, 2020
Disappointing only in its brevity. Some lovely humour and typical Maeve insights into human nature. The reader learns a bit about Maeve as a person and these insights are charming. Where it felt forced was making humorous lists for hospital invalids/visitors or the other terribly short bits that anyone could have written. In all only a couple of hours (if that) of reading but for die hard Maeve Bunchy fans a must read nevertheless.
July 16, 2025
* I wrote this with passion in 2012! Comments are appreciated! *
I discovered Maeve Binchy's novels, thought they looked delightful, and gathered quite a few. For years I’ve heard glorious remarks about her and look forward to fitting her tales into my queue. An Irish reading circle via my blog has pushed her ahead. Trust me to start with anything but titles that turned authors into stars. Rather than try Maeve's fiction straight away, it has been an immense treat to take a personal ride with her. I have felt warmth and a good nature from the portraits in her best-selling novels. I was unsurprised her memoir-style "Aches & Pains" had me liking Maeve very much indeed. I connect more deeply with a story if I respect the author and can't wait to wade into her mainstream work! If there are prequels to what I have on hand, I'm happy to sort them out and follow this special person.
This short, hilarious handbook is worthwhile threefold: fans learn a personal side of the successful Irish storyteller, it gives information about ailments and experiences Maeve experienced firsthand, and truly teaches a way to laugh about unpleasant things like hospitals and convalescence. The cheekiness on delicate matters is unrivalled. I’m sharing this jewel with my mother. Every page makes me laugh but her foray into a nudist colony is the funniest part of all!
After dealing with excessive weight, smoking, drinking, and hip replacement surgery; Maeve and her illustrator friend Wendy Shea felt it would be marvellously helpful to share the dos & don’ts of sickness and hospital stays with the world. Should I one day need those services, I hope I set my shoulders to the task as graciously and good-humouredly as they did.
I discovered Maeve Binchy's novels, thought they looked delightful, and gathered quite a few. For years I’ve heard glorious remarks about her and look forward to fitting her tales into my queue. An Irish reading circle via my blog has pushed her ahead. Trust me to start with anything but titles that turned authors into stars. Rather than try Maeve's fiction straight away, it has been an immense treat to take a personal ride with her. I have felt warmth and a good nature from the portraits in her best-selling novels. I was unsurprised her memoir-style "Aches & Pains" had me liking Maeve very much indeed. I connect more deeply with a story if I respect the author and can't wait to wade into her mainstream work! If there are prequels to what I have on hand, I'm happy to sort them out and follow this special person.
This short, hilarious handbook is worthwhile threefold: fans learn a personal side of the successful Irish storyteller, it gives information about ailments and experiences Maeve experienced firsthand, and truly teaches a way to laugh about unpleasant things like hospitals and convalescence. The cheekiness on delicate matters is unrivalled. I’m sharing this jewel with my mother. Every page makes me laugh but her foray into a nudist colony is the funniest part of all!
After dealing with excessive weight, smoking, drinking, and hip replacement surgery; Maeve and her illustrator friend Wendy Shea felt it would be marvellously helpful to share the dos & don’ts of sickness and hospital stays with the world. Should I one day need those services, I hope I set my shoulders to the task as graciously and good-humouredly as they did.
April 14, 2018
Hoewel het een leuk boek is om te lezen, heb ik er minder van genoten dan van haar romans. Het is een boek met korte stukjes, aangevuld met tekeningen van een illustrator, over ziek zijn. Deze stukjes zijn grappig om te lezen. Toch had ik niet zo’n connectie met dit boek. Waarschijnlijk omdat het dus allemaal van die korte stukjes zijn en geen doorlopend verhaal. Een pluspunt van dit boek is dat het net lijkt of de schrijfster tegen je praat. Leuk voor tussendoor.
July 10, 2025
I absolutely loved this witty little book. It is a patient perspective story rife with clever banter and, at the same time, thoughtful nuggets of advice that I am sure would cheer up even the grumpiest of patients.
Having been the one in scrubs rather than the hospital gown, I really enjoyed "seeing" the other side.
Having been the one in scrubs rather than the hospital gown, I really enjoyed "seeing" the other side.
February 23, 2019
2 1/2 stars
I did not find this terribly amusing. Had this not been written by Maeve Binchy, I probably would not have finished reading it.
I did not find this terribly amusing. Had this not been written by Maeve Binchy, I probably would not have finished reading it.
December 15, 2020
3.5 stars. A quick, humorous book about recovering from surgery when one is older. I can sympathize with much of what Binchy says in this. A lighthearted read, which was fun.
September 15, 2024
A great gift for a hospital-bound friend or anyone who needs a little humour. I love that Maeve shared her own story of hip replacement and pretending to be well for a long time before she got it fixed. And the story of visiting a nudist resort was interesting to say the least!
September 30, 2024
Funny & practical advice
February 10, 2022
"I suppose I'm afraid the sympathy fuse is short and can be tried to breaking point, so I allowed myself to indulge in it very sparingly.
...
I had said so often that I was great I almost believed it myself. And on the odd day when I really did need the shoulder to wail on I felt I could ask for it because it wasn't already sodden with the damp of a thousand wails."
"If you go into hospital full of dire forebodings then you'll surely find something that might live up to your gloomy expectations. Instead you should say very firmly on Day One that you have been told no kinder human beings exist on planet Earth than nurses, and no more worthy institutions were invented than hospitals."
"Making a will empowers you. You can feel all generous, warm, giving and organised without having to give up a single thing.
...
You should also tell all your friends to make wills, too. I've shamed a great many people into it by saying in an aggrieved tone that I have left them marvellous things and will be deeply affronted if it turns out that they have left me nothing. Stress that you only want a keepsake, not the deeds of their house. That should reassure them and force them into will-making mood."
"I am a person who thinks that something should be said on every occasion. 'I think I'll leave it all to you,' I said to the surgeon, and they all seemed deeply relieved."
"He said the very best thing people could do for him was to visit him at home and give the one obligatory acknowledgement of regret that he was about to die so soon. He said you needed that much, otherwise the conversation was entirely artificial and everyone was in some kind of denial. After that you left it."
...
I had said so often that I was great I almost believed it myself. And on the odd day when I really did need the shoulder to wail on I felt I could ask for it because it wasn't already sodden with the damp of a thousand wails."
"If you go into hospital full of dire forebodings then you'll surely find something that might live up to your gloomy expectations. Instead you should say very firmly on Day One that you have been told no kinder human beings exist on planet Earth than nurses, and no more worthy institutions were invented than hospitals."
"Making a will empowers you. You can feel all generous, warm, giving and organised without having to give up a single thing.
...
You should also tell all your friends to make wills, too. I've shamed a great many people into it by saying in an aggrieved tone that I have left them marvellous things and will be deeply affronted if it turns out that they have left me nothing. Stress that you only want a keepsake, not the deeds of their house. That should reassure them and force them into will-making mood."
"I am a person who thinks that something should be said on every occasion. 'I think I'll leave it all to you,' I said to the surgeon, and they all seemed deeply relieved."
"He said the very best thing people could do for him was to visit him at home and give the one obligatory acknowledgement of regret that he was about to die so soon. He said you needed that much, otherwise the conversation was entirely artificial and everyone was in some kind of denial. After that you left it."
February 27, 2022
A lovely little book, funny, quirky, and full of insight, logic, weirdness and fun in good old Binchy style. Great for anyone who hates hospitals, loves doctors, find ordinary people just plain fun, and anyone about to have something replaced (it doesn't necessarily have to be a hip, as in Maeve's case). If you buy the book, proceeds go to charity, so a win win no matter what.
August 2, 2020
Witty reminders on attitudes and manners one should keep firmly in mind on their way to a hospital for a procedure. It is also helpful to anyone facing a visit to a difficult friend staying in the hospital. Very short with lots of adorable illustrations.
December 25, 2021
This is not a novel, just a cute little book on how to deal with being in the hospital, and visiting patients in the hospital. It's light, funny in a few spots, nothing memorable except now I know if I ever need a hip replacement, it's a breeze....ha-ha.
January 26, 2022
In what could be called Binchy bangs on, this one is a series of vignettes, lists, and odd facts, all in a small book where the proceeds went to assist the arthritis foundation.
One for the fans I think.
One for the fans I think.
September 18, 2020
Amusing short book about the aches and pains of growing older, and how our attitudes and behaviors help.
August 3, 2021
Entertaining in that it was short.
October 20, 2021
I read this book in about an hour. It made me laugh and reminisce about the 3 days in the hospital with my colon surgery. So much was so true about the hospital, the staff, and my visitors.
June 14, 2018
It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't any good. The author wrote it during her recuperation from hip surgery and it reads like she just published any little hospital-related thought or one-liner that popped into her head.
The only story that was any good was an interview with a man given three months to live at the end of the three months. He tells of the reactions of the people around him and what he would have preferred the reactions to be (Don't send get well cards, just come visit. And don't have a conversation without telling him you're sorry he isn't well because ignoring the elephant in the room is just annoying. And for God's sake stop offering homeopathic cures and crystals, it refuses to acknowledge reality).
Frankly, it was a little boring, and the only way I would have guessed that it was supposed to be funny was from the cover illustration. And that poor illustrator; she tried so hard to make the book seem funny but she was given nothing to work with.
The only story that was any good was an interview with a man given three months to live at the end of the three months. He tells of the reactions of the people around him and what he would have preferred the reactions to be (Don't send get well cards, just come visit. And don't have a conversation without telling him you're sorry he isn't well because ignoring the elephant in the room is just annoying. And for God's sake stop offering homeopathic cures and crystals, it refuses to acknowledge reality).
Frankly, it was a little boring, and the only way I would have guessed that it was supposed to be funny was from the cover illustration. And that poor illustrator; she tried so hard to make the book seem funny but she was given nothing to work with.
July 2, 2023
This book is a quick easy read. The author and artist both had hip replacements and decided to put together a book to raise funds for the Arthritis Research Campaign. They describe it as a sort of survival manual - some "nannyish" advice about how to muddle through a time of aches and pains. Full disclosure here, I've had rheumatoid disease for over 40 years, osteoarthritis and various other medical issues. I am well acquainted with pain. Truth be told I don't remember what a day without it is like. Having said that, this book is the kind one could dip in and out of. It is short but tries to touch on ailments ranging from brief to mental health to terminal illness. There are some words of wisdom in it, but nothing that 40+ years of living with chronic illness have not already taught me.
September 5, 2022
Meh. Cute at times. Its best attribute was that it was short. Picked it up because when I first opened it I randomly landed on a poem and I thought it would be an illustrated poetry book.
The author is quite old and I don't agree with a lot of what she says or how she says it. There are some parts that are interesting or funny, but most of it I couldn't relate to and just thought she was babbling nonsense for the sake of it. I don't think I like old books very much. I could tell she belonged to a generation with different values and I got bored of reading "just suck it up" rephrased in a thousand ways.
The author is quite old and I don't agree with a lot of what she says or how she says it. There are some parts that are interesting or funny, but most of it I couldn't relate to and just thought she was babbling nonsense for the sake of it. I don't think I like old books very much. I could tell she belonged to a generation with different values and I got bored of reading "just suck it up" rephrased in a thousand ways.
June 18, 2019
What a great book! Maeve Binchy in a whole new light, her very personal look at life, with homegrown wisdom and lots of humour.
"A sort of survival manual, written with great sympathy, a fairly light heart and a genuine belief that nothing is quite as bad as it seems at four o'clock in the morning."
Well worth a read - and it will cheer you up!
"A sort of survival manual, written with great sympathy, a fairly light heart and a genuine belief that nothing is quite as bad as it seems at four o'clock in the morning."
Well worth a read - and it will cheer you up!
September 21, 2023
A short, funny and insightful book that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has spent time in hospital, studying human nature or is simply getting older.
It would make a perfect gift for somebody in hospital/recovering from surgery and a perfect pick-me-up for those times when you just want a laugh!
It would make a perfect gift for somebody in hospital/recovering from surgery and a perfect pick-me-up for those times when you just want a laugh!
December 11, 2023
This is a very short book written by Binchy after she & a friend spent time in different hospitals to have hip replacements. While they recovered, they put their heads together to produce helpful advice to prospective patients and/or visitors to patients. It is mostly humorous with some serious advice, such as dealing with patients suffering with a mental illness, & is a fun read.
December 23, 2017
Like many writers, Maeve Binchy had an unhealthy lifestyle. So it's not surprising that she had health problems and in this little book she gives delightfully funny tips for dealing with them graciously. No doubt, her terrific sense of humor kept her going physically and mentally.
August 3, 2018
Short and sweet. I adore Maeve Binchy and I loved this little self help book. Are you heading to the hospital? Well, she has some good advice for you presented in her humorous manner. Visiting a patient? There’s some good advice for you also.
July 8, 2022
A short witty account of an older person coping with a stay in hospital for surgery. I listened to this whilst also in hospital and it certainly made me smile in places. I liked the odd facts that the author threw in too.
April 3, 2024
Thanks Borrow Box for free audiobook.
Probably not the right type of people for this book as it’s suitable for our older generation, with ideas. I did enjoy listening to the author as I’ve enjoyed her books.
Probably not the right type of people for this book as it’s suitable for our older generation, with ideas. I did enjoy listening to the author as I’ve enjoyed her books.
May 31, 2017
Absolutely loved this book IT was a delight to read.
I couldn't put it down
.I stayed up until 4 a.m reading it .Thank you Maeve
Binchy .
Carolyn Reid
I couldn't put it down
.I stayed up until 4 a.m reading it .Thank you Maeve
Binchy .
Carolyn Reid
July 31, 2017
Mildly amusing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews