Liz Nugent is officially the #1 author in Ireland, and we caught up with the author this month to discuss all things books 

If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston. Not that Ruby wants to think about the past, but it can’t stay a secret forever.

Her Book Club recently caught up with the #1 author in the country to discuss her latest bestseller and the inspiration behind it.

The Truth About Ruby Cooper is a book about lies, and the damage not telling the truth can have not only on your own life, but those around you.

One of the most incredible things about Liz Nugent's novels is the way she writes about such dark topics, but in the most respectful and vulnerable way. Ruby is such a complex character, but you can't help but hope she will change her ways and tell the truth. She is flawed and has many issues, her biggest being her addiction to alcohol and drugs, but you will find yourself hoping she will change, and wishing she would tell the truth so she can finally be free.

One of the biggest standouts of this story is the way Liz writes about Ruby's issues with drink and drugs, something she understands on a deeply personal level.

Liz shared, " My dad was an alcoholic. He died in 2020, but he was sober for the last 40 years of his life. I'm kind of very familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous and the methods of getting sober and staying sober. One of the biggest things about staying sober is telling the truth. And that's the one thing that Ruby cannot do or won't do."

"She can't ever be properly sober, like she's a dry drunk. She doesn't drink, but she has all of the personality traits of an addict because she can't tell the truth. She can't make amends because part of the AA program is that you make amends to people that you've hurt through your addiction, and she can't. She has a justification for everything."

Liz Nugent on finding out she was #1 after three days

Liz's ability to write about such dark themes with not only respect but depth and understanding makes her one of the best authors on this island of ours. Her work is in a league of its own and transcends any genre, so seeing The Truth About Ruby Cooper at #1 comes as no surprise to me.

Speaking about the book's success, Liz said it has been nothing short of miraculous.

"It's kind of miraculous because you put a book out there and you never know how it's going to go. I suppose it's the closest I'll be to giving birth. You're letting your child out to school for the first day, and you hope it won't be bullied by the other books, and you hope that it will be received well, and it will be popular."

Liz added, "I am so proud of the book, but also, I'm really proud of the team behind it in Penguin who really pushed it to the fore."

Liz also praised everyone from booksellers to the designers and readers who have helped make the book the immense success it is.

You can buy The Truth About Ruby Cooper here.