★ The work of Julia Kelly, the acclaimed Irish memoirist and novelist whose books have been translated into 13 languages and published around the world.

★ Julia Kelly's writing has won the Irish Book Award and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award and the Irish Book of the Decade.

★ In this book, Julia works a kind of miracle: Delphine's voice and image come into focus — no longer a lost subject, no longer merely a busy housewife and devoted mother, but a voracious reader, an independent traveler, and a woman who will live on forever in her daughter's gestures, glances, and words.

Julia Kelly's mother, Delphine, spent most of her life behind the scenes as the wife of a politician, selflessly tending to the needs of her husband John and their five rambunctious children. In a poorly ventilated house, though these siblings were dearly loved by their parents, they were largely left to their own devices, cared for by a string of hapless babysitters, dodging invasions of mice, and forever seeking the attention of their exhausted mother.

When John collapsed from a heart attack at the age of fifty-nine, for his wife it was a sorrowful release. Freed from household duties, Delphine underwent a transformation. She embraced sea swimming and set off on adventures to far-flung places with a group of older women. Her final trip was to the Galapagos Islands, where an unexpected wave struck her, threw her off balance, and pulled her under. When her body surfaced, she had stopped breathing. The book left on her hotel nightstand was 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Grief-stricken, the five siblings began the long journey of bringing their mother's body home. Yet it was the autopsy report that proved key to Julia's healing and recovery: gradually, amid the clinical descriptions of limbs and eyes, heart and toes, Julia found solace. Drawing inspiration from each part of the body, she breathes life into Delphine in luminous, bright prose — for the first time in her seventy-two years, Delphine truly comes to rest, fully present.

Leaping from the pages of Still is an unforgettable human being: a vibrant, complex woman whose boundless capacity to love continues to inspire and comfort. In the end, she departed as she had always striven to live — plunging into the unknown in the midst of a grand adventure.

Julia Kelly

Irish author and internationally bestselling writer. She is known for books about ordinary women and their extraordinary stories. Her work spans historical fiction and historical suspense, including The Dressmakers of London, The Lost English Girl, The Last Dance of the Debutante, The Last Garden in England, The Whispers of War, and The Light Over London, which have been translated into 13 languages. She also writes a historical suspense series featuring Evelyne Redfern, comprising A Traitor in Whitehall and its sequel Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, with the third installment, A Dark and Deadly Journey, to be released in autumn 2025.

Beyond writing, Julia Kelly is an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, and marketing professional. She has lived in Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York, eventually settling in London. Her work ranges from profound emotional expression to compelling storytelling.