Remember Me As Human

When Lucy Walsh was seventeen, she was given sixty-three of the love letters her Grandfather Dale wrote her Grandmother Wanda while he was overseas in World War II. A dozen years later, life changing events compelled Lucy to fly from Los Angeles to tiny Newman, Illinois, to spend three days talking with Wanda for what would be their final conversations. What began for Lucy as asking about the letters, became an unexpected master class in truly living.

This is the story, much of it conveyed in Wanda's inimitable voice, of Wanda's ninety-seven-year-long life, encompassing everything from her English ancestors to the residents in her nursing home. Through Lucy's candid questions and Wanda's soulful stories, we are swept up into one family's legacy that transports readers right into their own experiences and memories of family.

When Lucy isn't talking with Wanda, she visits other relatives and her own memories: the many trips over the years to Illinois and her mother's family; growing up in Los Angeles with two fathers, one a rock star; becoming a performer herself. Inevitably, in her effort to understand where and who she comes from, it becomes the story of Lucy's life as well, to which all readers can relate to in their own search for Self.

We fall in love with the unforgettable Grandma Wanda Mae, as she shares insights and confessions with plenty of comedic relief amongst the pain; making us laugh so hard we cry, and cry so hard we come back around to laughter. This book is a treasure trove of all Wanda has to teach us about what it truly means to be deeply, imperfectly, gloriously human, at every age.

"Lucy Walsh has written a lovely, heartbreaking book that shines a light on another era, where self-reliance was a common, everyday necessity, not something to aspire to or pontificate about. Pride in family, region and community; an abiding love between her grandparents, two soulmates, are all captured in this moving book."

-BETTE MIDLER

"Reading is a solitary occupation. I started Remember Me As Human that way. But then the pages fell against me like waves, and wore away this illusion that I am alone. As Ms. Walsh recounts her experience of family, so in that same steady progression, I remembered my own recollected inheritance, my mother, my father, so many stories. We forget so much of what makes us a member of the human family. I'm grateful to Lucy Walsh for reawakening me to my own life."

-JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY

"A beautiful deep dive into the stories that make us who we are, in the form of the writer's own exploration into the love story of Grandparents. Lucy has a gentle and thoughtful voice that allows each of us to acclimate into her family as if they were our own."

-PATTY JENKINS

"I'd be a proud friend and fan of Lucy Walsh and the talent she has even if she wasn't the daughter of a rock legend. Her family memoir is yet another example of the depth of talent this young woman possesses."

-JOE MANTEGNA

"Wow, what a journey. Lucy takes us on a heartfelt and revelatory trip through her family history. In so doing, she discovers new truths in herself, and the reader discovers more in themselves about the amazing ride we're on as humans."

-DEAN NORRIS, Breaking Bad

"Lucy writes with the nostalgia of an old classical Hollywood film. She weaves, through the eyes of her grandmother Wanda, an understanding that 'legacy' is not in the grandiose moments, but in the minute ones that truly make one human."

-MELISSA ROXBURGH, Manifest

"I loved it!"

-JEFF GARLIN, Curb Your Enthusiasm

"A beautifully heartfelt read; honest, witty & full of charm... In these Memoirs, Lucy has crafted her journey down into a real page turner"

-ALEXANDER VLAHOS, Versailles

"This book unveils a story destined for the world. It goes beyond being a loving tribute solely to Lucy's grandparents; it celebrates all grandparents who pave the way for future generations."

-LISA STANLEY, Kearth 101 Morning Show

Lucy Walsh is an award-winning actress and musician, appearing in films (Garry Marshall's Mother's Day) and plays (Shakespeare's Cleopatra and The Tempest) and on television (Curb Your Enthusiasm, NCIS, Criminal Minds). She has toured internationally with her music, most recently with Maroon 5 and One Republic. Her song "Winter Coat" is on the Mother's Day soundtrack; her cover version of "Not Alone Anymore" is on the Roy Orbison: Under the Covers album. She also composed the score for the 2022 film Normal and is featured on Billy Bob Thornton's musical film project And Then We Drove. Most recently, however, she has focused on writing. Remember Me as Human is her first book. Currently working on a screenplay based on the letters her grandparents exchanged during World War II, Walsh divides her time between New York and England with her husband, William Sweeny, and their two cats, Gilbert and Jessica Daisy Bing Bings.

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