The Gods of Clown Alley
Reviews
Mother-daughter travel is a birthday tradition for singer-songwriter O'Grady, a Beacon resident, who frames this tale within one such trip to an Arizona spa in the wake of a deep depression. She side-treks into her dream life, an ongoing dialectic with the essence of Ernest Hemingway, and other trips with her Irish immigrant mom to take us with her on an often hilarious journey inward, back to bliss and conscious co-creation told with rock 'n' roll candor. O'Grady is impishly irreverent with a spot-on BS detector, making the revelations she experiences ring fresh and genuine.
Chronogram Magazine
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The author tells her story with humor and whimsy… the memoir delivers a captivating and candid look at how humans can learn to “become artisans, transforming pain into love.” An engaging, honest, and eccentric account of a spiritual journey.
Kirkus Reviews
Murder, madness, mayhem, and because it’s an Irish tale, the mother too. Tara takes a meditative journey of the heart in The Gods of Clown Alley.
Colin Broderick, author and filmmaker – Emerald City
The Gods of Clown Alley twists and turns through carousel realizations of what we carry and how we carry it, which shapes our path, our questions and our spirit, as it leads us inexplicably towards liberation. Tara O’Grady spins a tale of compassionate awakening to warm your heart.
Robert Waggoner, author and speaker – Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self
About the Book
“What if I were to tell you we are all gods?” This is how Tara, the narrator, invites readers into her illuminating story of self healing at a mother-daughter retreat in Arizona after a debilitating depression that triggers suicidal thoughts and sparks a spiritual awakening with the realization that George Lucas was right, the Force is real.
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Migrating toward Happiness
The Soundtrack to My Spiritual Awakening
Reviews
"An unconventional and perceptive memoir that aims to inspire readers to 'discover the happiness that is waiting to be revealed at his or her core.' ”
"...thoughtful, insightful prose..."
"...surprising insights on the nature of the American Dream and the immigrant experience."
Kirkus Reviews
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“Migrating toward Happiness reads like a song, an intimate melody, made vibrant by the rhythm of motion and the shifting accents of the immigrant voice. This story is at once familiar and extraordinary – it could be anyone’s family, any American journey – but the storytelling is so poignant, so lively and enchanting, that the tale is utterly seductive. Tara O’Grady sings from the page in this charming debut, and her readers will be keen for an encore.”
Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt
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“You see more than the USA in Tara O'Grady's Chevrolet. All memoirs are journeys but this one is exhilarating, effervescent, and sometimes sad. All men should read it to help them understand the magic of the workings of a woman's mind and all women should read it for affirmation. It's got prose, poetry, music, musing and humor spiced with history all soaring in a wild profusion of color and romance settling on a positive peak. Get elevated. Read it. I loved it!”
Malachy McCourt, A Monk Swimming
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"It's a wonderful story of magical events occurring at just the right time, synchronistic events spanning the globe and a trip across America (but in many ways, a trip into family, identity and self). An enjoyable, funny and thoughtful book - I'm already looking forward to her next book."
Robert Waggoner, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self
About the Book
​If you have ever wondered, “What is the purpose of my life,” then this book is for you. Want to find out what’s on the other side of the rainbow? Put your red shoes on and join Tara O’Grady and her spirit guides as they escort you on a magical and melodious tour down the yellow brick road. Utterly single, recently laid-off and lamenting a city that is consuming her spirit, this native New Yorker begins to not only notice, but understand the road signs the Universe is laying out before her as she awakens to its mysteries. Guided to take a symbolic journey replicating her Irish immigrant grandmother’s 1957 American road trip in a Chevy Bel Air, Tara begins her path to a spiritual awakening, soundtrack included. It is a road trip like no other. Let Tara show you how to reconnect to a life beyond the cubicle and follow your intuition to fulfill your heart's desire. Prepare to get happy!
Imagine 'Eat, Pray, Love' meets 'Thelma and Louise' on the yellow brick road, soundtrack included.
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The Irish Times published an article written by Tara O'Grady about her grand uncle Fr. Peter and his dangerous spiritual pursuits in Spain prior to the Spanish Civil War. Fr. Peter is featured in her memoir.
About the Author
Tara O’Grady is a singer-songwriter, intuitive educator, and bliss ambassador. She has released five albums of jazz, blues and folk music. She is the author of two memoirs published in 2019 and 2023. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she spends her time between New York and Ireland.
Photo: Richard J. Velasco
Photos from the Journeys
Photo: Richard J. Velasco
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