Tipperary author overwhelmed by powerful response to deeply personal debut memoir

Cashel author Marie Gleeson has been taken aback by the response to her debut memoir, ‘Be Like the Sea’, with the book's deeply personal stories striking a chord with readers since its launch earlier this year.

From messages from complete strangers to moving accounts of how her experiences have helped people through difficult periods in their own lives, Marie said she never anticipated the impact the book would have when she first put pen to paper.

That response has now been followed by another major milestone, with Marie earning a nomination in the Last Word Listeners' Choice Award at the 2026 An Post Irish Book Awards.

Speaking to Tipperary Live, the first-time author described the past few months as "crazy", admitting that becoming a published author was never something she had set out to do.

"I'm a totally accidental author," she said, explaining that her daughters were the driving force behind the book.

While she had initially expected readers to focus on the extraordinary experiences of her career in the Irish Naval Service, Marie said it was the more personal aspects of the memoir that had generated some of the most powerful reactions.

In particular, she recalled receiving a message from a mother whose teenage daughter had been going through a very difficult time. The woman had originally intended to give the book to her daughter but ended up reading it herself.

"She said, 'I'm in the storm. I need to know I can get out the other side of it'," Marie recalled.

It was a message that meant a great deal to Marie, who admitted that writing about some of the most personal experiences of her life had left her feeling exposed.

"I was really raw and vulnerable when I wrote those chapters. I wanted to be really real," she said.

One of the most personal stories in Be Like The Sea is the loss of Marie and her husband John's first child, Ciarán. Diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality during pregnancy, he was born in 2012 and lived for just six days.

For Marie, the experience was among the most difficult of her life.

She admitted that she had moments of doubt in the run-up to publication, wondering whether she had been right to share such personal aspects of her life, but the response from readers who had never met her has helped reassure her.

"Reviews from your family and friends are great, but it's when you read reviews from people who don't know us or don't know me and you can see what the book has meant to them that really makes you step back and go, God, this was really worth it," she said.

Published in May, Be Like The Sea traces Marie's unconventional journey from growing up as a farmer's daughter in Tipperary to a career in the Irish Navy.

The memoir takes readers behind the scenes of life aboard naval vessels, from the challenges of military training to commanding high-pressure missions at sea. Among the experiences recounted is a major drug interdiction operation which resulted in the seizure of cocaine valued at €700 million.

Marie said she had been struck by the interest in the realities of life in the Naval Service, with readers learning about the confined conditions aboard ships and what it is like to spend months living and working alongside the same crew.

But beyond the extraordinary professional experiences, Marie hopes the book will show readers that life does not have to follow a perfect or straightforward path.

Her own route into the Navy was far from planned. Having experienced setbacks around her Leaving Certificate and struggled to find her direction, she eventually saw the Naval Service as a way forward.

She described it as her "last chance saloon".

Through her work with schools, Marie has become increasingly aware of the pressure facing young people, particularly young women, to have their futures mapped out and to achieve perfection.

She hopes her own story will show them that there is no single route to success, and that an unexpected turn or setback does not mean they have failed.

She said she had heard from parents who had passed the book on to their children, particularly those approaching their Leaving Certificate or facing decisions about college.

Her message to them is simple: "It's okay not to be perfect, you don't have to be."

The memoir has also received a strong response from members of the Defence Forces, veterans and their families. Marie said it had been particularly rewarding to hear from former colleagues and retired service personnel, and to know that the book had recognised the families who support those serving away from home for lengthy periods.

She was also pleased to have highlighted the contribution of non-commissioned officers, whose experience and guidance played an important part in her own career.

Since leaving the Navy, Marie has brought many of the lessons learned during her career into her work with businesses and leadership teams, focusing on teamwork, communication and supporting those around you.

And while the success of Be Like The Sea has been an unexpected experience, Marie is already considering how she might bring her story to an even younger audience.

One of her daughters originally inspired the idea of a children's book about a farmer's daughter who goes to sea and becomes captain of a ship, something Marie would love to explore in the future.

"It's the girl from the farm who goes to sea and becomes a captain of a ship," she said. "It just shows you can do anything."

The positive reception to the memoir has now been capped by Marie's nomination for the An Post Irish Book Awards. Conscious of being nominated alongside some "global superstars", she is hoping readers at home will get behind her.

She joked: "If Tipperary got voting, we could bring another All-Ireland home!”

You can vote for Marie Gleeson’s Be Like the Sea online here