Aidan Mc Nally Exploring Life’s Highs And Lows Through Writing

A Journey of Resilience and Transformation

Aidan Mc Nally shares his journey from personal loss and addiction to becoming an acclaimed author, offering insights on resilience, self-discovery, and the transformative power of storytelling.

Aidan Mc Nally is a beacon of resilience and transformation, whose life story and literary works inspire readers to confront their own challenges with courage and introspection. Hailing from the quaint village of Loughshinny, Dublin, Aidan’s journey is anything but small. His experiences have taken him across the globe, where he has embraced life’s complexities with an unyielding spirit. Through his writing, Aidan invites us to pause, reflect, and realign our lives, offering a perspective that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. His ability to connect with readers on an emotional level is a testament to his authenticity and the profound impact of his words.

Aidan’s literary contributions, including the award-winning “TWO sons TOO many,” “17 & Life,” and “Layman’s Handbook,” have garnered critical acclaim for their raw honesty and insightful exploration of the human condition. “TWO sons TOO many” is a poignant memoir that delves into the depths of personal loss and the arduous journey of healing, while “Layman’s Handbook” provides practical tools for self-help and emotional growth. Aidan’s works are a testament to his belief in the power of storytelling to heal and transform. His writing not only offers solace to those grappling with grief and adversity but also serves as a guiding light for anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of life with grace and resilience. Through his books, Aidan Mc Nally has established himself as a vital voice in contemporary literature, one that encourages us all to embrace our vulnerabilities and find strength in our shared humanity.

Your memoir TWO sons TOO many is a deeply personal account of your life, marked by incredible highs and devastating losses. How did the process of writing this book serve as a form of self-therapy for you, and what was it like to revisit such painful memories?

Writing is believed to be therapeutic by many and I believed the same to be true. When writing about my own life story I found it very tough to write about the devastating loss that I have endured and not only once but twice in burying two of my sons. The process was at one time an 8 hour day at the keyboard where uncontrollable crying is all that I can recall. I never thought emotion could be communicated through text. The feedback to date has been, “thanks for making me cry so much”, “I could not stop crying at this one part” to name a few. That was the part that was written in that eight hour day.

 In Layman’s Handbook: A Journey to SELF, you offer readers tools for self-help, self-care, and self-love. Can you share some specific strategies or practices from the book that have been most transformative for you in overcoming grief and finding joy again?

Grief is what we all know to be a funny/strange animal. Nobody wishes to experience this type of devastation or feeling of loss. What I call us to remember is that grief is a feeling and it will pass. And like all feelings it will come up again and again. The beautiful thing to remember is grief is love turned inside out. When we feel so strongly for somebody and then all of a sudden they are no longer there to receive our love, we grieve. Focus on how grief is born from our feelings of love. Take comfort in knowing that we can feel and we have love. This is a beautiful side of grief.

 You describe yourself as a small village man with an appetite for life larger than the world itself. How has your upbringing in Loughshinny, Dublin, influenced your worldview and your writing, especially as someone who has travelled and lived in various parts of the world?

I always knew I was larger than the village where I grew up. A touch on a misspent youth showed all of the signs of this. I never understood that the world was my oyster when I was a teenager in my “hometown”. When I did spread my wings to fly and travel to far away places I devoured that oyster they had all been telling me about in my youth. A side note, I cannot stomach oysters lol. All in all the village mentality and simplicity did serve me well when faced with turmoil on a much larger scale though.

 Your journey from a troubled youth to a successful author is inspiring. How did your early experiences, including your struggles with addiction and time in prison, shape the man and writer you are today? What message do you hope readers take away from your story?

A saying in sobriety rooms and getting sober is “live life beyond your wildest dreams”. I never though it to mean too much though. In writing my memoirs I was reflecting on a story of my life where I could not believe what had occurred in my own life. I was that soldier in all of those situations, both good and bad. For some areas in my story, I found it hard to believe and some might argue that parts have been a nightmare rather than any “wildest dreams” I can safely say the journey has been beyond my wildest dreams and that overcoming addiction in life helped lay the foundations inside of me that I drew upon when the real life hit the fan.The message is to never give up. Keep going because we never know what is next. In all of the bad times, know that in archery, the archer must pull the bow backwards before he can launch and hit the target.

 Both of your books, TWO sons TOO many and Layman’s Handbook, explore the themes of resilience and personal growth. How do you see the relationship between these two works? Are there common threads that tie them together, despite their different formats and focuses?

Both books are similar in the sense that they are all about myself and my findings and my experiences. In TWO sons TOO many, the reader will come along for an adventurous ride around the world filled with awesome experiences of mine and heartbreaking loss. In Layman’s Handbook, the focus shifts from me, to joining me and exercising some simple tools and tips to help change our lives by exploring how I used or things that I found super useful to overcome emotional pains and difficult situations. I guess to say they are similar is only that the memoir is about my experiences and Layman’s is how you can adapt what I have used in my own life to overcome your own situations as they occur for you. To be honest I felt guilty not to share all that I have learned an applied in my life as I know I would have wished for a helping handbook many times along my journey.

You mention that Layman’s Handbook is intended to normalize discussions around mental health and emotional intelligence. What inspired you to write about these topics, and how do you hope your book will contribute to the ongoing conversation about mental health awareness?

I feel strongly about the subject as I could have been easily diagnosed with several conditions myself. Layman’s Handbook takes a look at how stigma really means nothing. When we find a willingness inside of ourselves to delve into ourselves, it is then that we can begin to relax the mind and calm our emotions and begin to understand how we may only differ from others and we can put in work to thoroughly enjoy our lives. Understanding is the key and we cannot understand unless we experience. Some will say, “To love someone is to know them” and I will say “To know someone you must understand them”. Who better to know than SELF?

Why should anybody take an interest or read any of your books?

I delivery a unique story of a boy turned man who overcame addiction. From a prison cell, to million dollar deal negotiations. A man who is as comfortably among celebrities and the elite as he is among the outcast or the homeless. We are all human first is a much more important insight than bank balance or status. Human nature is beautiful and reading my books will help any person to take a moment for themselves and cherish right where they are today. MY books offer the reader an insight of how anything IS POSSIBLE.