I began Are You Somebody with high expectations, and ended up somewhat disappointed. While it has some moving, heartbreaking passages did keep your interest, Nuala has the very annoying habit of name-dropping every other page or that. The narrative kind of grinds to a halt as you file away yet another famous or semi-famous person the author has drank and slept with or. Ok, so she's honest, but the book would have been so much better if she spent more time on her childhood and family (lots of brothers and sisters get barely a mention) and less on meeting a roaring drunk minor celebrity at a pub. But the more intimate memories make the book worthwhile. She paints a vivid picture of what it is like to grow up in a alcoholic, dysfunctional family, to go to all girls Catholic school, and Find Your Way in life despite many setbacks. This is no Angela's Ashes, and similar memoirs: such as the Liar's Club and A Drinking Life did it better. Still, it has its moments and wil! l strike a familiar chord in many readers.
