Maggie O'Farrell

O'Farrell's new novel is based on the story of her own great, great-grandfather, and tells the story of a father and son mapping 19th-century Ireland after the devastation of the Great Famine

Writer Maggie O'Farrell has survived some terrifying episodes. She's had a machete pressed to her throat during a robbery, once contracted amoebic dysentery while traveling and nearly bled out while giving birth to her first child.