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A Quarter Glass of Milk: The rawness of grief and the power of the mountains
When mountain runner Moire O’Sullivan’s husband, Pete, took his own life, she was left with a stark choice: to weep forever over the glass of milk that had just spilt or to get on with the quarter that was still remaining.
‘A quarter glass of milk’ details the twelve months after Pete’s passing. It charts the profound lows of being a recently widowed single mother who has lost her best friend and confidant. It also reveals how she resolves to stay strong for the sake of her children, ensuring they feel loved despite losing their father.
It tells how Moire makes the difficult decision to temporarily hang up her running shoes to replace them with hiking boots. By taking time out to become a Mountain Leader, by slowing down to a walking pace, she soon develops a different appreciation for the mountains and its people. And thanks to spending quality time within the hills, she soon realises her inner strength comes from embracing her fragility, something the mountains always show to those who dare approach them.
The book culminates in Moire returning to mountain running to take on the formidable Denis Rankin Round in the depths of winter, a ninety-kilometre circuit of the Mourne Mountains to be completed within twenty-four hours. Local mountain runners join her on this immense journey over thirty-nine of this range’s peaks, helping her remember the dark struggles her husband went through while also showing how the mountains and its community can be such a healing strength.
‘A quarter glass of milk’ details the twelve months after Pete’s passing. It charts the profound lows of being a recently widowed single mother who has lost her best friend and confidant. It also reveals how she resolves to stay strong for the sake of her children, ensuring they feel loved despite losing their father.
It tells how Moire makes the difficult decision to temporarily hang up her running shoes to replace them with hiking boots. By taking time out to become a Mountain Leader, by slowing down to a walking pace, she soon develops a different appreciation for the mountains and its people. And thanks to spending quality time within the hills, she soon realises her inner strength comes from embracing her fragility, something the mountains always show to those who dare approach them.
The book culminates in Moire returning to mountain running to take on the formidable Denis Rankin Round in the depths of winter, a ninety-kilometre circuit of the Mourne Mountains to be completed within twenty-four hours. Local mountain runners join her on this immense journey over thirty-nine of this range’s peaks, helping her remember the dark struggles her husband went through while also showing how the mountains and its community can be such a healing strength.
- GenresAudiobook
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2021
3 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Moire O'Sullivan
7 books7 followersMoire O’Sullivan is a mountain runner, adventure racer, author and mum.
In 2009, she became the first person to complete Ireland’s Wicklow Round. She subsequently wrote the inspirational mountain-running book, Mud, Sweat and Tears.
In between having her children, Moire won Ireland’s National Adventure Racing Series in 2014, 2016 and 2017, a story captured in the book Bump, Bike and Baby.
Moire previously worked for international aid agencies throughout Africa and South-East Asia. During a stint in Vietnam, she welcomed into her home a dog named Tom, the subject of her book, The Hound from Hanoi.
Her latest book, A Quarter Glass of Milk, charts how when her husband took his own life, she was left with a stark choice: to weep forever over the glass of milk that had just spilt or to get on with the quarter that was still remaining.
Moire now lives in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains.
In 2009, she became the first person to complete Ireland’s Wicklow Round. She subsequently wrote the inspirational mountain-running book, Mud, Sweat and Tears.
In between having her children, Moire won Ireland’s National Adventure Racing Series in 2014, 2016 and 2017, a story captured in the book Bump, Bike and Baby.
Moire previously worked for international aid agencies throughout Africa and South-East Asia. During a stint in Vietnam, she welcomed into her home a dog named Tom, the subject of her book, The Hound from Hanoi.
Her latest book, A Quarter Glass of Milk, charts how when her husband took his own life, she was left with a stark choice: to weep forever over the glass of milk that had just spilt or to get on with the quarter that was still remaining.
Moire now lives in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 8, 2021
If there is any truth in the idea that we read to help us in some way to become better versions of ourselves; more knowledgeable, more insightful, more human, then Moire O’Sullivan’s book is a book worth reading. A Quarter Glass of Milk is the powerful story of how she survived, and arguably went on to even thrive, over the course of the traumatic year following the sudden death of her husband.
Moire shares the story of her husband Pete’s short but tragic struggle with depression before he took his own life. “Depression tells its victim so many convincing lies”, she writes with devastating insight into the illness explaining how it can lead sufferers to believe in the specious and insidious notion that the world might be better without them.
We’re taken through the brutal initial hours and days after Pete died when she is surrounded by loved-ones, police and health care professionals from whom she gleans vital lessons she will use in the weeks and months ahead to rebuild the life of herself and her two young children. Moire is also surrounded by something else with the power to sustain her; the mountains in which she has adventured for years and it is among them that she finds a new strength that she uses to move forward with her life.
This is a powerful and engaging book. There is something here of real value to anyone who is either experiencing or supporting someone in grief. It’s also an utterly relatable guide to overcoming adversity in life by drawing strength from the people we care about and the passions we love. Moire is well known for her achievements in the Irish mountain running scene and despite the heavy subject matter the story is told with the pressing pace of a runner. Moire clearly has some of the innate strength of the granite mountain peaks in which she works and plays but this book also reveals her vulnerabilities. It is the tale of how she was able to overcome her sorrow and her doubts to forge forward in her efforts to rebuild her life which makes this book so truly worthwhile.
A Quarter Glass of Milk: The rawness of grief and the power of the mountains
Moire shares the story of her husband Pete’s short but tragic struggle with depression before he took his own life. “Depression tells its victim so many convincing lies”, she writes with devastating insight into the illness explaining how it can lead sufferers to believe in the specious and insidious notion that the world might be better without them.
We’re taken through the brutal initial hours and days after Pete died when she is surrounded by loved-ones, police and health care professionals from whom she gleans vital lessons she will use in the weeks and months ahead to rebuild the life of herself and her two young children. Moire is also surrounded by something else with the power to sustain her; the mountains in which she has adventured for years and it is among them that she finds a new strength that she uses to move forward with her life.
This is a powerful and engaging book. There is something here of real value to anyone who is either experiencing or supporting someone in grief. It’s also an utterly relatable guide to overcoming adversity in life by drawing strength from the people we care about and the passions we love. Moire is well known for her achievements in the Irish mountain running scene and despite the heavy subject matter the story is told with the pressing pace of a runner. Moire clearly has some of the innate strength of the granite mountain peaks in which she works and plays but this book also reveals her vulnerabilities. It is the tale of how she was able to overcome her sorrow and her doubts to forge forward in her efforts to rebuild her life which makes this book so truly worthwhile.
A Quarter Glass of Milk: The rawness of grief and the power of the mountains
June 9, 2021
Honest, open, sad, uplifting, hopefully - all these things and more. I recommend the book to anyone struggling with grief, or anyone who knows someone who is struggling with grief.
It's also a great example of the healing power of nature - in the case, with mountain running and hiking - and how focusing on doing what you are passionate about the most can bring you through the very darkest of times.
Peppered with sound advice and some great examples of human kindness and the support of a community and what a profound impact that can have on our recovery and ongoing wellbeing.
It's also a great example of the healing power of nature - in the case, with mountain running and hiking - and how focusing on doing what you are passionate about the most can bring you through the very darkest of times.
Peppered with sound advice and some great examples of human kindness and the support of a community and what a profound impact that can have on our recovery and ongoing wellbeing.
March 9, 2021
Powerful Read
Moire has written a powerfully moving and deeply personal book about her husband Pete’s struggle with mental illness, and the impact it had on her. She details how she coped in the year afterward - the help and support she received from others in the mountain running community and the beauty and steadfastness of the mountains themselves.
It is a poignant and honest telling of grief which ultimately leads to hope. Moire’s writing is eloquent and I found myself crying and laughing with her as she navigates her first heartbreaking year of grief.
I would highly recommend this inspiring read as Moire’s story is unfortunately all too common but not spoken about openly enough. It was incredibly courageous of Moire to write and publish her story but it reflects how brave she is as a person and how lucky her two boys are to have her as their mum.
Moire has written a powerfully moving and deeply personal book about her husband Pete’s struggle with mental illness, and the impact it had on her. She details how she coped in the year afterward - the help and support she received from others in the mountain running community and the beauty and steadfastness of the mountains themselves.
It is a poignant and honest telling of grief which ultimately leads to hope. Moire’s writing is eloquent and I found myself crying and laughing with her as she navigates her first heartbreaking year of grief.
I would highly recommend this inspiring read as Moire’s story is unfortunately all too common but not spoken about openly enough. It was incredibly courageous of Moire to write and publish her story but it reflects how brave she is as a person and how lucky her two boys are to have her as their mum.
April 18, 2021
Brilliant honest memoir. So much advice
November 29, 2023
Powerful and difficult read which faces tough topics head on
November 29, 2021
Recommended during a hike in the mournes by a all female hiking group I took the recommendation and purchased thus book, this story is raw and very touching.
Thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing
April 13, 2021
Moire O'Sullivan shows immense courage in writing a book about coming back from her husband's suicide. The inability for her, and it seems her partner, to understand what is going on in their lives is particularly heart-rending. The recovery process, which has certainly not been easy, is written with the commendable intention of helping others. It is quite revealing how many people she speaks to afterwards then open-up about their own issues, often depression-linked. Hopefully they all benefitted from talking openly to each other. At a simplistic level it was sad to see Moire losing her running mojo, but uplifting to see how she took on other challenges to bring herself to some kind of new-normal, as she brings up two very young children. Written very well, it is an inspiring read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews