Audiobooks Narrated by Fergal Keane

The Madness: A Memoir of War, Fear and PTSD

"BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK An Irish Times book of the year 2022 A powerful, probing book about PTSD. As a journalist Keane has covered conflict and brutality across the world for more than thirty years, from Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and many more. Driven by an irresistible compulsion to be where the night is darkest, he made a name for reporting with humanity and empathy from places where death and serious injury were not abstractions, and tragedy often just a moment’s bad luck away. But all this time he struggled not to be overwhelmed by another story, his acute ‘complex post-traumatic stress disorder’, a condition arising from exposure to multiple instances of trauma experienced over a long period. This condition has caused him to suffer a number of mental breakdowns and hospitalisations. Despite this, and countless promises to do otherwise, he has gone back to the wars again and again. Why? In this powerful and intensely personal book, Keane interrogates what it is that draws him to the wars, what keeps him there and offers a reckoning of the damage done. PTSD affects people from all walks of life. Trauma can be found in many places, not just war. Keane’s book speaks to the struggle of all who are trying to recover from injury, addiction and mental breakdown. It is a survivor’s story drawn from lived experience, told with honesty, courage and an open heart."

Fergal Keane (Author), Fergal Keane (Narrator)

Audiobook

Play Sample Listen For Free

How the Irish Shaped Britain: And 5 other BBC documentaries on Ireland

"A BBC Radio collection about Ireland and the Irish, hosted by Fergal Keane - plus bonus material Award-winning BBC foreign correspondent Fergal Keane grew up in Dublin and County Cork, and has always felt a deep attachment to his ancestral homeland. In these six absorbing programmes, he takes a wide-ranging look at Ireland's history, culture and people, in topics ranging from the political to the personal . Also included are two moving autobiographical pieces about fatherhood and his own childhood. How the Irish Shaped Britain explores the profound influence the Irish have had on the United Kingdom over many centuries. Beginning in the ancient Celtic world, Fergal travels through the time of the Vikings to the 19th and 20th Century and on to the present day, examining how Irish migrants and their descendants have shaped literature, business, sport and the physical landscape. Troubles Shared sees Fergal and fellow journalist Peter Taylor discussing their experiences of reporting on the Northern Ireland conflict. Over two episodes, they revisit the province to talk about what they saw, and ask what it all means now. Meanwhile, No Man is an Island takes Fergal from the Republic to Northern Ireland, as he charts the seismic changes that have taken place in both regions and reflects on the sectarian feuding which has dominated the history of Ulster. Keane on Keane... finds him presenting a profile of his uncle, celebrated playwright John B Keane. Visiting Dublin and the dramatist's home town of Listowel, Fergal hears how a country publican became an internationally-acclaimed writer. Another iconic figure is recalled in United Irishman, in which Keane recounts the colourful life of Wolfe Tone, the Protestant founding father of Irish republicanism. There Will Be Sunlight Later gives Fergal's impressions of life in Northern Ireland, as he talks to the country's citizens and listens to their poetry and music. And in two bonus essays, Letter to Daniel and My Grandmother's House, we receive insights into Fergal's own family life, through his poignant message to his newborn son and his recollections of his early days and his grandparents' home in Cork. How the Irish Shaped Britain Presented by Fergal Keane Produced by John Murphy & Adele Armstrong Mixed by Eloise Whitmore First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11-25 January 2021 Troubles Shared Presented by Fergal Keane and Peter Taylor Produced by Conor Garrett First broadcast BBC Radio Ulster, 31 October-7 November 2020 No Man is an Island Presented by Fergal Keane Produced by Tony Grant First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November and 9 December 1996 Keane on Keane... With Fergal Keane and John B Keane Produced by Chris Spurr First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 January 2005 United Irishman Presented by Fergal Keane Produced by Chris Bowlby First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 November 1998 There Will Be Sunlight Later Presented by Fergal Keane Produced by Cathy Packe First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 October 1990 From Our Own Correspondent: Letter to Daniel Read by Fergal Keane Produced by Tony Grant First broadcast as BBC Radio 4, 15th February 1996 My Grandmother's House Read by Fergal Keane Produced by Tony Grant First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 January 1999 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Fergal Keane (Author), Fergal Keane (Narrator)

Audiobook

Play Sample Listen For Free

All of These People: A Memoir

"In a memoir of staggering power and candour, award-winning journalist Fergal Keane addresses his experience of wars of different kinds, some very public and others acutely personal. During his years of reporting from the world's most savage and turbulent regions, Fergal Keane has witnessed the violence of the South African townships and the terror in Rwanda, the most extreme kinds of human behaviour, the horror of genocide and the bravery of peacekeepers faced with overwhelming odds. As one of the BBC's leading correspondents, he recounts extraordinary encounters on the front lines. Alongside his often brutal experiences in the field, he also describes unflinchingly the challenges and demons he has faced in his personal life growing up in Ireland. Keane’s existence as a war reporter is all that we imagine: frantic filing of reports and dodging shells, interspersed with rest in bombed-out hotels and concrete shelters. Life in such vulnerable areas of the globe is emotionally draining, but full of astonishing moments of camaraderie and human bravery. And so this is also a memoir of the human connections, at once simple and complex, that are made in extreme circumstances. These pages are filled with the memories of remarkable people. At the heart of Fergal Keane's story is a descent into and recovery from alcoholism, spanning two generations, father and son; a different kind of war, but as much part of the journey of the last 25 years as the bullets and bombs."

Fergal Keane (Author), Fergal Keane (Narrator)

Audiobook

Play Sample Listen For Free