Beloved Irish author Marian Keyes has admitted that she would give up her writing career completely if it meant she could escape her depression.

In an interview, due to be published in tomorrow’s Weekend magazine with The Irish Independent, the best-selling writer has spoken frankly about how at one stage she planned to take her own life.

Marian, whose books have sold a whopping 23 million copies worldwide, has spoken frankly about her struggles with mental health in the past.

In a piece published in The Daily Mail late last year, Marian wrote about the reality of a breakdown, sharing the story of the all encompassing primal fear she felt take over her life, and her stay in a psychiatric hospital.

Now, Marian has admitted that, like a character in her most recent novel, she once bought a craft knife and planned to end her own life. Speaking to Weekend, she said; "I was extremely suicidal for a year and a half, and I had to fight it every day. . . I remember sobbing in my mother Mary's arms and begging her to give me permission to kill myself”.

The author, who said that “the only way you can feel that you're not alone is by hearing other people's stories”, admitted that she feels “uniquely luck” that her experiences can be written about and may strike a chord with someone else who is suffering.

Keys has previously spoken about channeling her efforts into baking while she was at her lowest ebb, a venture that led to her 2012 book ‘Saved By Cake’.

 

The full interview with Marian will be published in Weekend magazine this Saturday.

If you or someone close to you is struggling with depression please visit Aware here, or contact their helpline in 1890 303 302