Walk the Line: Anne Griffin on discovering writing in her 40s

The Irish author is on a constant quest to quieten the voices of self-doubt

“The biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome is 
doubting myself,” says author Anne Griffin

I got into writing very late, when I was 44, and When All is Said, my debut novel, wasn’t published until I was 50. I wasn’t one of these writers who as soon as they had a thought in their head, it was that they wanted to be a writer.

It was a surprise, this whole career, for me. It’s been life-changing and a complete surprise. If I went back and talked to my 16-year-old ...