Listen to a sample
The Forest is the Path
- Author
- Gary Lightbody
- Narrator
- Gary Lightbody
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 13 March 2025
- Run Time
- 3 hours 23 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Music, Popular music, Individual actors and performers, Memoirs, Published diaries, letters and journals
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
What to expect
'Moving and lyrical, The Forest is the Path is an imaginative and deeply personal journey of self-discovery.'The Irish Times
‘[An] astoundingly poetic book’ Pandora Sykes
You’re falling through time so all I can do is fall with you.
The numbness had set in long before I sat at your bedside. But even with senses impaired as the flight touches down at Belfast City I can somehow still feel the screeching of wheels on tarmac scorching something deep into me.
Gary Lightbody's phenomenal companion to Snow Patrol's No.1 Album of the same name is a remarkable work of narrative writing.
The Forest is the Path explores some of the main themes of the album; time, home, love, death and life, and serves as a prequel to the record, telling the story of his dad Jack's death. It tracks the journey he went on – a journey whose end seemed to unlock a part of Gary that had been dormant until he started to write songs again.
This is the book that emerged from that time.
'Raw…and extraordinary.' Nihal Arthanayake
'Lightbody's propose is fluid and unflinchingly honest' The Irish Times
'Absolutely beautiful.' Audrey Carville
‘I have both cried and laughed reading this book. It is beautiful.’ Muireann O'Connell
Critics Review
-
'A tender, thoughtful exploration of love and grief. A beautiful book.' Marian Keyes
-
'Absolutely floored me. Novelistic and majestic. I've long loved Gary Lightbody as a lyricist. Maddeningly it turns out he can do it in the long form too. This is a brilliant prose debut. I hope there's more to come.' John Niven
-
'A stunning meditation on family, grief and creativity, told in gorgeous prose. The Forest Is the Path is an evocative and moving manifesto of loss and love, and a reminder of what's important.' Sinéad Gleeson
-
'The Forest is the Path is a lyrical, moving and astoundingly honest portrait of grief. A deeply personal account of a difficult time which will resonate with every reader who's ever lost someone close. Full of pathos, hope and hard-won profundity.' Jan Carson
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
‘Lightbody’s experience in songwriting — heartfelt, confessional treasures like Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes is beautifully rendered in narrative form.’ Sunday Times, Pavel Barter
-
'I read it in one go…and then I read it again.' Lorraine Kelly
-
'A beautiful piece of work.' Ryan Tubridy, Virgin Radio
-
'The book and the album – both are absolutely terrific.' Brendan O'Connor
-
‘Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol has written a really beautiful book, The Forest Is the Path, about writing and dealing with the grief of losing his dad. It’s really great.’ Edith Bowman
-
'This book is visceral and raw, travelling at breakneck speed through moments of grief, memories and artistic creation.' The Sunday Post (Scotland)
-
'Like Joan Didion in her remarkable memoirs about grief, Lightbody is well able to capture the surreality of the disappearance of a loved one out of your life.' The Irish Independent
-
'Gary Lightbody's lyricism works just as beautifully on the page as it does in his music.' Loverboy Magazine
-
'Much like Dante's dark wood or the mythic journey into the unknown, Lightbody's forest is both an obstacle and a revelation – a place where getting lost is the only way forward.' Irish Times
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
- No written reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Gary Lightbody
- Narrator
- Gary Lightbody
- Duration
- 3 hours 23 minutes
- Release Date
- 13 March 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008751920
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Music, Popular music, Individual actors and performers, Memoirs, Published diaries, letters and journals
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
'The pages sing in this beautiful book.' Bono 'Moving and lyrical, The Forest is the Path is an imaginative and deeply personal journey of self-discovery.'The Irish Times ‘[An] astoundingly poetic book’ Pandora Sykes You’re falling through time so all I can do is fall with you. The numbness had set in long before I sat at your bedside. But even with senses impaired as the flight touches down at Belfast City I can somehow still feel the screeching of wheels on tarmac scorching something deep into me. Gary Lightbody's phenomenal companion to Snow Patrol's No.1 Album of the same name is a remarkable work of narrative writing. The Forest is the Path explores some of the main themes of the album; time, home, love, death and life, and serves as a prequel to the record, telling the story of his dad Jack's death. It tracks the journey he went on – a journey whose end seemed to unlock a part of Gary that had been dormant until he started to write songs again. This is the book that emerged from that time. 'Raw…and extraordinary.' Nihal Arthanayake 'Lightbody's propose is fluid and unflinchingly honest' The Irish Times 'Absolutely beautiful.' Audrey Carville ‘I have both cried and laughed reading this book. It is beautiful.’ Muireann O'Connell
About xigxag and the x-book®
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
Our x-book® format is the only fully integrated listen-and-read experience available. See the text on screen as you listen, look up words, take notes, search within the book, and share quotes. It is especially useful for accessibility, language learning, and getting more from non-fiction. Look for the purple x-book® ribbon on the cover, or filter your search by "x-book" to find them.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.