SEAN LOONE is a Catholic deacon working in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
He has spent much of his career teaching in schools and colleges combining this with lecturing part-time at Saint Mary’s College Oscott, the seminary for the archdiocese.
Currently he acts as chaplain and Religious Education advisor to a number of academic establishments including Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic School, his home parish, where he is also the Catholic Life governor.
Alongside this busy schedule working in the community, Sean has found time to write several books. His latest, A Million Reasons to be Angry – only One to Love, has been enormously successful.
Published in 2025,the readership extending to The USA, Australia Germany and of course Ireland. He told The Irish Post: “So far, along with my other titles the amount I have raised for charity is touching £12,000.
I just wanted to thank you and if possible your readers for your support.
With my late Mother coming from Mayo a great source of pride for me was the book being sold in the Knock Shrine book shop. I donated all profits in that case to the Shrine.”
Rev Dr Sean Loone spoke to The Irish Post about the book...
“Her son took the hand she could no longer use and rubbed it gently down the side of his face, she smiled, and one tear left the corner of her eye and rolled gently down her cheek.
"The lines on her face told a story, but only he could read it. It was time to let go now, her strength was gone, and she had nothing more to give. She closed her eyes for the last time and would never open them again in this life. Now it was the turn of her own son to wipe the tears away from his face, but he knew her story, and one day, when the time was right, he would tell it.”
This is an extract from my new book called A Million Reasons to be Angry – only One to Love, and describes the death of my mother.
She came from a small place called Kilbride near Swinford in County Mayo.
Bridget along with her parents, two sisters and four brothers lived on a small homestead at the end of a boreen surrounded by vast open countryside. They scratched a living out of the land but as the times changed such a life became unsustainable. So it was that she and her siblings eventually moved to England in search of work and a better life. Eventually I came along and the rest as they say is history. Or is it?
If I had to summarise my new book in two words, they would be struggle and hope. Struggle because that is the best way to describe my mother’s life from the moment she met and married my alcoholic father, and hope because it was her faith which eventually was to save us both.
At times then there is a dark shadow which overhangs some of the things I felt compelled to describe in the book. For this reason, I reflect deeply on two issues which threatened to crush the very life out of me, and they are mental turmoil and childhood trauma. Yet, that is far from the end of the story.
What I attempt to do through the themes I explore in the book is to take people on a heartfelt journey into the depths of my own soul.
As a result, I refer to the project as a spiritual memoir whereby I share much of my own life story, from a broken childhood filled with emotional wounds to a life of renewed purpose rooted in faith and love.
My aim is to combine honest memories and experiences with reflections on mental health, literature, and Christian belief by gently leading the reader through moments of darkness into the light of healing love.
Along the way I draw inspiration from figures such as Don Quixote and Bilbo Baggins whilst at the same time anchoring everything in my mother’s faith in Jesus Christ. My great hope, therefore, is to offer insights into the struggle to discover the ‘authentic self.’
At its heart, the book is about hope: the hope that comes when someone opens the door to your pain; the hope that arises from the kindness of a teacher; and the eternal hope found in God’s unconditional love.
I would like to think that the book is characterised by courageous honesty which seeks to show that there may well be a million reasons to be angry at life, but God’s unconditional love is the only answer that heals.
To achieve all of this I draw heavily not only on my mother’s faith but also on my own Irish identity. Hence there are constant references throughout the book to Ireland and the debt I owe to everything it has given to me.
This led me to say with reference to my mother and grandmother, Kate, and Bridget Conry, ‘I stood on your shoulders and saw wonderful things.’
So, if you want to be taken on a ride from Kilbride to Swinford, resting for a while in Knock, all in county Mayo before being taken to Dublin and beyond with the music to ‘Riverdance’ as your soundtrack, then join me on a journey through a life.
At times you might just find yourself laughing, and I have no doubt that there will be tears too but if you see it through to the end what emerges out of the darkness is the light of love.
To finish, for anyone struggling with their own wounds, supporting someone going through any kind of hardship, or seeking to deepen their own understanding of faith, mental health, or childhood trauma, I hope this book offers solace, guidance, and inspiration.
A Million Reasons To Be Angry – Only One to Love; A book about Mental Health, childhood Trauma, and Faith is released on October 13, 2025 and is available in hardback, paperback and for Kindle from Amazon and in paperback from all good bookstores.
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