The Irish Times is reporting that Element Pictures has secured the film rights to Ruth Fitzmaurice’s forthcoming debut book I Found My Tribe.
Ruth is the wife of writer/director Simon Fitzmaurice, and her book details her home life with Simon and their five children. In 2008 Simon was was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, when Ruth was expecting their third child. The title of the book comes from an outdoor swimming club in Ladies’ Cove, Greystones, which served as a support mechanism and outlet for Ruth. She penned several articles under the title for The Irish Times, leading to the book deal with Chatto Windus.
The book will be released in 2017, and is described by the publishers as focusing on “the magic of suffering, the healing power of the natural world and the brightness of life”.
The Fitzmaurice’s home-life has been briefly captured on film before in Frankie Fenton’s documentary It’s Not Yet Dark, which chronicles the making of Simon’s debut feature film My Name is Emily. That documentary took its title from Simon’s memoirs which were published in 2014.
In a statement to the Irish Times, Emma Norton of Element Pictures said:
Ruth’s writing has the power to stop you in your tracks and make you look at the world differently. From the moment, we read her article in The Irish Times we were totally captivated by her voice and perspective on her life. We feel a deep responsibility towards adapting I Found My Tribe for screen and can’t wait to start working with Ruth on it.