The Forest is the Path

De: Gary Lightbody

'The pages sing in this beautiful book.' Bono

'Moving and lyrical, The Forest is the Path is an imaginative and deeply personal journey of self-discovery.' The Irish Times

‘[An] astoundingly poetic book’ Pandora Sykes

You’re falling through time so all I can do is fall with you.

The numbness had set in long before I sat at your bedside. But even with senses impaired as the flight touches down at Belfast City I can somehow still feel the screeching of wheels on tarmac scorching something deep into me.

Gary Lightbody's phenomenal companion to Snow Patrol's No.1 Album of the same name is a remarkable work of narrative writing.

The Forest is the Path explores some of the main themes of the album; time, home, love, death and life, and serves as a prequel to the record, telling the story of his dad Jack's death. It tracks the journey he went on – a journey whose end seemed to unlock a part of Gary that had been dormant until he started to write songs again.

This is the book that emerged from that time.

‘[An] astoundingly poetic book’ Pandora Sykes

'Raw…and extraordinary.' Nihal Arthanayake

'Lightbody's propose is fluid and unflinchingly honest' The Irish Times

'Absolutely beautiful.' Audrey Carville

‘I have both cried and laughed reading this book. It is beautiful.’ Muireann O'Connell

©2025 Gary Lightbody (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Reseñas de la Crítica

'A tender, thoughtful exploration of love and grief. A beautiful book.' Marian Keyes

'Absolutely floored me. Novelistic and majestic. I've long loved Gary Lightbody as a lyricist. Maddeningly it turns out he can do it in the long form too. This is a brilliant prose debut. I hope there's more to come.' John Niven

'A stunning meditation on family, grief and creativity, told in gorgeous prose. The Forest Is the Path is an evocative and moving manifesto of loss and love, and a reminder of what's important.' Sinéad Gleeson

'The Forest is the Path is a lyrical, moving and astoundingly honest portrait of grief. A deeply personal account of a difficult time which will resonate with every reader who's ever lost someone close. Full of pathos, hope and hard-won profundity.' Jan Carson

‘Lightbody’s experience in songwriting — heartfelt, confessional treasures like Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes is beautifully rendered in narrative form.’ Sunday Times, Pavel Barter

'I read it in one go…and then I read it again.' Lorraine Kelly

'A beautiful piece of work.' Ryan Tubridy, Virgin Radio

'The book and the album – both are absolutely terrific.' Brendan O'Connor

‘Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol has written a really beautiful book, The Forest Is the Path, about writing and dealing with the grief of losing his dad. It’s really great.’ Edith Bowman

'This book is visceral and raw, travelling at breakneck speed through moments of grief, memories and artistic creation.' The Sunday Post (Scotland)

'Like Joan Didion in her remarkable memoirs about grief, Lightbody is well able to capture the surreality of the disappearance of a loved one out of your life.' The Irish Independent

'Gary Lightbody's lyricism works just as beautifully on the page as it does in his music.' Loverboy Magazine

'Much like Dante's dark wood or the mythic journey into the unknown, Lightbody's forest is both an obstacle and a revelation – a place where getting lost is the only way forward.' Irish Times

Raw and Beautiful

I really enjoyed the raw beautiful and honest words. I would highly recommend this book. Gary did an amazing job writing and reading his beautiful journey .

Beautifully written book

I listened to this beautifully written book in one go. I am gutted. It brought up so many emotions that I realize I haven’t dealt with in almost 7 years of my mom being gone. I thought I was the only one feeling some of these things.

What poetic truth

Now I love the album even more. First book to move my soul in a long time. A true blessing.

Healing from grief

If you like Snow Patrol this is a must read, it makes the songs of the new album shine in a whole new light. However even if you’ve never heard a single Snow Patrol song in your life, the account of the process of grief had Gary Lightbody shares is as raw and poetic as grief itself. As someone who went through the loss of a parent in the last year this book specially read by the author had me clinging to every word feeling the rollercoaster of emotions.
Art can heal.

Heart touching

Thank you Gary for your vulnerability and truth. Sending you all the love in this world you deserve ~ and know your father always knew what was in your heart.