What do you get when you mix a pandemic, a poet with a wicked Irish wit, and a pen as sharp as a shillelagh? You get Life Sucks: Memories and Introspections During the Great Covid Lockdown—a delightfully irreverent collection of essays from satirist and two-time Pushcart nominee PS Conway, who proudly traces his roots to the wild beauty of County Kerry.
Conway’s writing brims with the kind of dry, self-deprecating humor and lyrical storytelling that can only be born from generations of Irish charm (and a healthy amount of Blarney). As he says in his book:
“The twinkle in an Irish eye is the sun reflecting off a tear formed due to the pent-up laughter from having some sport with your gullibility.”
Whether he’s recounting feckin’ white-knuckle drives along the Dingle Peninsula or philosophizing about the Irish art of never letting “the truth get in the way of a good story,” Conway’s voice is both authentically Irish-American and sharply modern.
Life Sucks is equal parts time capsule, therapy session, and pub-side confessional. A pandemic memoir from a poet who understands that sometimes the only thing to do when the world stops is to laugh—and pour a pint.
Fictional Café Press
Trade Paperback; April 1, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9874421-5-9
$19.95; 6 x 9; 300 pages
About the Author
PS Conway has published more than 50 poems across four online journals and 16 poetry anthologies. Two anthologies have been Amazon Best Sellers (so far). He released his first poetry collection Echoes Lost in Stars [Literary Revelations Publishing House] in March 2024. To date, it has garnered significant critical acclaim. In April 2025, PS will release Life Sucks: Memories and Introspections During the Great Covid Lockdown [Fictional Café Press], a compilation of satirical essays from Covid lockdown. A two-time Pushcart Nominee, PS also serves as the 2024-25 Poet-in-Residence for the online literary journal, The Fictional Café. He finds fascination in words birthed from dark, literate, and emotive places. Find him online at psconway.com and poetrybyps.com, and follow him on social media (Facebook; Instagram; and Twitter/X).
