'I poured my soul into it' - Carlow writer celebrates publication of debut novel

A Carlow writer is celebrating after the publication of her debut novel. 

Sara Sheeran describes her happiness and pride having published The Sum of All Parts, but admits she is also "immensely nervous" about its reception. 

She says, "It's quite scary, the book is fiction but I poured my soul into it so I feel very exposed." 

The novel - which she describes as "a long time in the making" - is a story on life, love, pain, memories, betrayal and hope told by six narrators, including The Wife, The Woman, The Lover, The Girl, The Patient, and Thoughts. 

She says, "I wanted to write about what it's like to be a woman, those milestones we are supposed to just accept and carry on regardless - our children leaving home, menopause, old age, infidelity - and how this all takes its toll on our mental health. 

"It's that idea that we view each other as 1D. We tend to focus on just one or two aspects of a person, we forget the bigger picture and [I] wanted to convey this in The Sum of all Parts." 

She continues: "I also chose this approach to show how we - and the protagonists in the story - view life events differently depending on age, circumstance, emotion. In short, we change constantly from moment to moment, our thoughts, ideals and beliefs affected by our emotions, our age, our current situation. 

"We as humans - and in particular as women - are continually boxed and categorised: we are daughter, wife, sister, lover, colleague, mother and so on and so on; when in reality we are all of these aspects and so much more. We are all made up of lots of different parts, each as important as the particular 'whole' we are expected to present to society at any given time." 

According to Sheeran, Gestalt psychology and Kurt Kofka were used as inspiration for this way of thinking, as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which she describes as "key" to the story. 

She explains how the book reflects upon how thoughts create feelings, feelings create behaviour, behaviour creates thoughts and so on. 

She says, "It's an endless cycle, one in which we are all caught, as are my protagonists." 

Speaking about her writing process, Sheeran says, "I observe. I take mental notes. I mull ideas over. Eventually an idea comes to me, begins to grow and I put pen to paper.

"I made about four drafts of The Sum of all Parts before I had something I was relatively happy with, and the first draft is completely different to the book that is published. 

"[It] is quite dark in terms of the subjects it approaches but I hope that it is also hopeful, and will give the reader pause for thought." 

The Sum of All Parts is available to buy online through Amazon, Waterstones and Book Depository.