On September 2, 1998, a fire in the cockpit sent Swissair Flight 111 plunging into the sea off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 men, women and children on board perished, including Ivy Bannister's sister, Patty. Set in Dublin, New York and the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Blunt Trauma is the true story of how one family's life was ravaged by the terrible event.

When Ivy Bannister switched on BBC radio from her home in Dublin the following morning, she had no idea that that the first thing she'd hear would change her life forever. An ocean away from the tragedy that claimed her sister's life, Ivy soon left her family to be with her 80-year-old mother in New York City. What follows is a poignant day-by-day account of how she coped with the tragic death of her sister, and the painful practicalities of identifying remains and disposing of possessions.

Blunt Trauma takes a powerful look at tragedy, grief and acceptance in an intimate, fast-paced, and sometimes startling story that shows the past as illuminated by the present and explores how catastrophe shatters imperfect familial relationships.

Ivy Bannister is a story-writer, playwright and novelist. She grew up in New York City and currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. She is the author of two story collections, Magician and Other Stories and The Wild Circus Show. Her stories have also been widely anthologized and broadcast by RTÉ (Ireland's Public Service Broadcaster) and the BBC, and she is a contributor to Sunday Miscellany (Dublin). She is a lecturer on literature and drama, and she has facilitated writers' workshops for Dublin's Writers Center, the Global Women's Network and the Verbal Arts Centre. She recently received the Hennessy Award and the Mobil Ireland Playwriting Award.

Ivy Bannister's profile page

"The detail of Patty's violent death are disturbing enough... but Bannister's account of its aftermath, in which she takes a long hard look at her relationships with her difficult and demanding mother, and her trouble sister, is very more affecting."

<i>Books Ireland</i>

"With its grief, its unflinching honesty, and its wry humour, Blunt Trauma brings the public event back into private experience in a remarkable work of literature."

Liz McManus

"Ivy Bannister wakes us from our desensitised world of 24-hour media coverage. With its grief, its unflinching honesty and its wry humour, Blunt Trauma brings the public event back into the private experience in a remarkable work of literature."

<i>Dublin Xtra</i>