Everyone knows it. 2016 really has been rough. Numerous tragic events, Trump becoming president and SO MANY celebrity deaths. Not to mention any personal struggles that I’m sure a lot of us have had to face.

If you’re a decent, moral person you’ve had a lot of knocks. A failure to Repeal the 8th, Brexit and Trump (again. Because I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it) amongst many, many other things.

But from all that comes a shining beacon of hope; Watermelon by Marian Keyes.

My battered copy of Watermelon.

My Mother has been telling me to read this book for a long time now. She assured me how much I’d love it and how funny I’d find it. I believed her, but I could never spot it in a bookshop or a charity shop. My mantra with books that I’m meaning to read is “they’ll find me when I need them.” When scouring bookshelves, I often spot one that I’ve been meaning to get around to.

But when Trump was elected president, I fucked that mantra out the window and went online to source a copy of this wonderful book. When it arrived into my hands, I’m not going to lie, I squealed a little bit.

I read it on the bus and when I was supposed to be getting sleep before important exams. I read it in the library, attempting to hide it from my classmates. I read it in the bath and on the toilet and whenever else I got a spare few minutes.

It’s about an Irish woman named Claire who is left by her husband on the day that her daughter is born. She’s disgusted at this huge disruption to her glamorous London life and seeks refuge in her family home back in Dublin. She’s comforted by her hilariously Irish family as she recovers from the trauma of losing everything she once knew and loved.

You’ll be in fits of laughter as you mourn, despair and seek comfort alongside the charismatic, newly single Claire, exploring Dublin after being away from it for years. I cannot name the amount of times I found myself laughing out loud at this book. It was a wonderful and necessary escape from the world when I really found myself needing it.

If 2016 has bitten you in the ass, try Watermelon. I can’t recommend it enough.