'An important book ... Only by hearing such voices will we shape our understanding into some kind of order and reconciliation'

'I read this book with total fascination. Different countries, different conflicts, Pat the bomber and I the bombed - yet how extraordinarily similar, intense, complex and healing the experience of reaching out to the hated 'enemy' had been for both of us'

'Magee’s narrative is calm and collected; analytical and poetic ... His emotional desire for reconciliation comes across as genuine and heartfelt'

'Patrick Magee is a fine example of a human being making his way through an acute crisis. He and Jo Berry managed to transform the aftermath of a severe conflict into a profoundly useful form of communication. They both deserve our respect and admiration for this'

'A vivid, deeply personal account of why a young, unassuming man became a volunteer in the IRA, risked his life and sacrificed his freedom, to take on not just the British military in Belfast's ghettoes but in the lion's den itself'

‘Compelling … Pat’s exploration of his journey into republican politics, of life as an IRA volunteer, as a political prisoner and the consequences of the armed actions he participated in, provide an important alternative narrative to that often presented by others’

'Not many autobiographies show an author feeling his way through his life, seeking to understand each phase of it. This one does'

'A treatise on processes of responsibility, grieving and reconciliation'

‘A fascinating read’

Patrick Magee was a committed member of the IRA for 27 years, fighting against British rule of Ireland under partition. He was responsible for planting the ‘Brighton Bomb’ in 1984. Since his release from prison after the Good Friday Agreement, he has worked towards building a common understanding of the past. He completed his PhD whilst in prison, and is the author of Gangsters or Guerrillas? Representations of Irish Republicans in Troubles Fiction (Beyond the Pale Publications, 2001). He remains a republican.