Discussing Wittgenstein by Ann Drysdale

The sequel to the highly acclaimed Three-three, two-two, five-six

Discussing Wittgenstein is another masterpiece from Ann Drysdale—told in intelligent prose and poetry that sings off the page, the sequel to Three-three, two-two, five-six will delight readers who have waited eagerly for the final book and enthral readers who are new to both.

Discussing Wittgenstein picks up the story of Philip Grey and Ann Drysdale after their near death-bed marriage and Philip’s return home. It is the end of a remarkable love story, but it is also much more; a tender, poignant testimony to how personal mythologies are built and survive. Discussing Wittgenstein is an elegy to the human spirit and to our quest to shape experience into meaning.

Praise for Ann Drysdale’s work

A masterpiece, striking a perfect balance between the metaphysical, physical, emotional and institutional aspects of serious illness. What makes it extraordinary is not only the brilliance of the writing but also the profundity of Ann Drysdale’s love for this man… the balance between love and fear, distance and closeness, observation and empathy, humour and despair …something very rare in literature: great art that is also persuasive advocacy on a matter of the most urgent practical concern.

Professor Raymond Tallis

A moving, thoughtful, and very thought provoking account of her husband’s last days. …It was not a conventional relationship, the author was 58 when she married Philip, she knew that he was impotent and was already dying. She also writes ‘He had always been a bully just as I had always been a victim and we had both had previous relationships where this had been an issue.’ Yet despite such startling admissions, this is a book laced with great tenderness, and empathy, acceptance and insight.

This is a book that promises to linger in the memory – I would warmly recommend it to anyone who has ever been a carer, or who has lost someone dear to them, or, indeed to anyone who has ever paused for a moment to reflect on their own mortality.

Ray French

Ann Drysdale is an acclaimed poet, non fiction writer and journalist. She was born near Manchester, brought up in London, married in Birmingham, ran a small holding and raised three children on the North York Moors and lives half way up a mountain in South Wales. She was a journalist for many years writing, among other things, the longest-running by-line column for the Yorkshire Evening Post. She has won many prizes for her writing and written several poetry collections and non-fiction books, including the two-part memoir Three-three, two-two, five-six and Discussing Wittgenstein, described by Professor Raymond Tallis as a ‘masterpiece’.