Book review: Searing memoir delves into the relationship between mother, daughter and alcohol

Cork-born Noelle McCarthy has carved out quite a name for herself as a journalist and broadcaster in her adopted home of New Zealand. She is happily married to fellow journalist and former professional rugby player John Daniell, whose memoir Confessions of a Rugby Mercenary is one of the most honest, eye-opening accounts of the oval ball game ever penned.

With a beautiful daughter, a doting husband and a successful career, McCarthy’s life on paper is pretty idyllic. Yet Grand tells a different story, one of addiction, loneliness, pain and heartache that makes for pretty heavy reading.