Powerful debut novel from adopted Galwegian Edel

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Two years ago, journalist Edel Coffey made a New Year’s resolution – a short but powerful one.  “I decided on ‘achievement over perfection’,” says the Dubliner who has been living in Galway for the past six years. “You don’t have to do everything perfectly. And if you’re not obsessed with doing everything perfectly, you might be able to do everything.”

Having made that decision, she began working on what’s become her debut novel, Breaking Point, which has just been published and which is a compelling read.

Set in New York, it centres on Susannah, a high-achieving paediatrician, a wife and mother, an author and broadcaster whose life is choreographed to the last. On a morning when her rigid routine is disrupted, Susannah makes a fatal error while running on autopilot. It results in the death of her baby, who has been left in the back seat of the car.

This wealthy woman who seemed to have it all, is put on trial for negligence. The media converge, eager for every last detail of her life and lifestyle. Among the journalists is Adelaide, a woman who has also had to face her demons. Edel set the story in New York because the US social welfare system isn’t exactly renowned for maternity care. So, it’s more extreme than Ireland but the issues are the same, she says. And while Covid-19 initially seemed to herald a change in how we work, she isn’t sure.

“Initially, people thought it was great, but ultimately, you have work in your home and you end up working at night. There’s no distinction and no downtime.”

A recently-introduced code of practice in Ireland is the first step towards creating a balance, she says, and it’s needed.

The high-pressured life of someone like Susannah – a doctor, a mother, an author and TV personality – carries a cost. Each of those is a career on its own, but she’s caught in a world where “doing more means you’re doing better and it’s hard to say no”.

Much of the tension in the story arises from how the police, the prosecutor and public view her, based on assumptions and with no real knowledge of her life behind closed doors.

The courtroom and newsroom scenes are very true-to-life, and Edel had a certain degree of experience in the latter, she laughs.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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