Corn flakes for dinner - Aidan Comerford

Aidan Comerford was on top of the world. He stepped off stage having just been crowned the winner of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014, previous winners of which include Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan, David O'Doherty and Aisling Bea. This was it! His big break ...

He returned to Ireland elated, only to find out that while he was in Edinburgh his youngest daughter, who has autism, had gone missing near a lake.

For Aidan this was the moment he began to accept that personal dreams can never take precedence over family, a family who were struggling through tough challenges - redundancy, mortgage problems, a pyritic house, post-natal depression - and, in the midst of it all, both daughters were diagnosed with autism.

Corn Flakes for Dinner is about what happens when expectations don't meet reality and, dreams crushed, you carry on and discover that even the darkest of clouds can reveal a silver lining. A hilarious, poignant memoir about ordinary magic, Corn Flakes for Dinner is a masterclass in navigating life's toughest challenges and rediscovering the joy in every day.

'Any parent of a child with autism should read this book. It gives some much-needed humour for the dark days. Far from being glib, it will be a lifeline for so many.' Irish Independent

'Being a parent is challenging in all sorts of ways and things come at
you from all directions that you don't expect. What Aidan has done is
illustrate that with a lightness of touch.'Roisin Ingle, The Irish Times

'I can't recommend this book enough, an incredible read about expectations, reality and the silver lining of family life.' PJ Gallagher

'Darkly funny, fantastically real.' IMAGE

Aidan Comerford won So You Think You're Funny? at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014. He has also performed at the Montreal Just For Laughs festival and the Vodafone Comedy Festival. He lives in Ashbourne with his wife, Martha, and daughters Ailbhe and Sophie.