More big questions – and more interesting answers – from Gay Byrne's hugely popular RTÉ TV show

We all look for meaning in our lives and here twenty well-known public figures share what gives their lives meaning, prompting us to ponder the question ourselves and perhaps even find some answers.

Following last year's bestselling The Meaning of Life, Gay Byrne is back with more insightful discussions on the big themes that bind us all: childhood, love, faith, disbelief, morality, religion, grief.

Based on his popular and long-running RTÉ TV show, The Meaning of Life 2 explores life's big questions with an array of fascinating public figures, among them Ronan Keating, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Ian Paisley and Imelda May.

With Peter McVerry he ponders whether life is shaped by accidents or by the way people respond to accidents. Mary Robinson reveals the beliefs and values that fuel her formidable moral engine. Eamon Dunphy's early experiences led him to believe that 'everyone is magnificent in their own way', and Edna O'Brien discusses her struggles with the Catholic Church after the infamous banning of The Country Girls.

'There are many pearls of wisdom to be harvested from the human oysters featured here who share with me the beliefs, values, thoughts and experiences that have shaped, or been shaped by, their lives.'

Gay Byrne

The Meaning of Life 2: Table of Contents

Preface by Gay Byrne

– Imelda May

– Peter McVerry

– Mary Robinson

– Brian Cody

– Ian Paisley

– J. P. Donleavy

– Emily O'Reilly

– John Lonergan

– Ronan Keating

– Maureen Gaffney

– Sean O'Sullivan

– Christina Noble

– Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh

– Fionnula Flanagan

– Colm Tóibín

– Mary Byrne

– Colm Wilkinson

– Celine Byrne

– Edna O'Brien

– Eamon DunphyFor each book sold, a donation will be made to The Peter McVerry Trust and The Christina Noble Children's Foundation.

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