My memoir, Saving Ellen; A Memoir of Hope and Recovery, will be published April 1, 2025 (Skyhorse), The book chronicles my feisty sister’s struggle with kidney disease when the illness was considered terminal. My father dissolved into alcoholism; my mother became determined to donate her own kidney to save Ellen when transplants were rare. Mom kept secret the consequences of her decision, and I had to write a book to find out the rest of the story.
Where to Buy:
Book Club Reading:
Maura is available to talk about the memoir at book clubs or speaking engagements located within 50 miles of Connecticut or virtually.
Suggested questions for book clubs to consider:
- When Ellen decided she would stop complaining about her illness, what do you think the impact was on the rest of the family?
- What role do you think denial played as Maura coped with her fears over her sister? Do you think it helped her get through, or not?
- Were you surprised that Ellen's mother donated a kidney? More women than men are living organ donors in virtually in every country. Why do you suppose that is?
- After Maura was raped she struggled with depression, but then had what she described as a quiet sense of the presence of God which helped her get the strength to go on. Was this surprising? Do you think such an experience is common after a traumatic event?
- Were you surprised in the end concerning the choice Ellen's mother made? Why or why not?
Praise for "Saving Ellen"
“I loved this book: it gives a fascinating insight into an Irish Catholic family in Buffalo in the very early days of renal transplants. As one of Ellen's doctors, I knew something about the limitations of treatment for kidney failure at the time, and the difficult choices that her family – and Ellen – faced. I was fascinated to hear the whole story, with the domestic turmoil, told with biting humor – and the final reconciliation.”
– Dr. Mary Hawking, sister of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking
Saving Ellen broke my heart and renewed my belief in the triumph of the human spirit—sometimes in the same chapter! The Casey family story is one I’ll fondly recall long after other memoirs will have faded from memory.”
– Wally Lamb, author of “She’s Come Undone”
Saving Ellen is a shimmering memoir of childhood, tender and honest, full of tumult and complicated love. It's a stunning portrait of an Irish Catholic family, but the heart of the story, and the beauty of how the Caseys love each other through it all, is universal. It's a brilliant book.”
– Luanne Rice, author of “Last Day” and “The Shadow Box”
I love this brilliant, stunning, shattering memoir about a complicated, tight-knit family. While reading it, I laughed out loud and I wept. Maura Casey writes masterfully about a mother’s devotion, and a daughter’s evolution into becoming a woman and a writer. Unforgettable.”
– J. Courtney Sullivan, author of “Maine” and “The Cliffs”
“This is a story for anyone who has refused to give up on someone, including themselves. With her skills as a veteran journalist, Casey takes us on a journey through the nooks and crannies of working-class life, which is always hard but full of people who insist on joy, too. With her ever-expanding heart, she helps us find the words for unspeakable grief and the map to forgiveness.”
– Connie Schultz, Pulitzer prize winner and author of “Daughters of Erietown”
“Saving Ellen reads like a movie, with vivid scenes and rich characters in a roller-coaster coming-of-age story that makes you laugh out loud and then punches you in the gut. More than a memoir, Maura Casey provides a time capsule of America—Rust Belt poverty, parochial schooling, family disfunction, a breakthrough organ transplant—capturing a sense of where we all come from.”
- Steve Kurczy, author of "The Quiet Zone" and award-winning journalist