During this time she also wrote The Mystery of Mercy Close, a novel in which the heroine experiences similar battles with depression and suicide attempts as those Keyes herself experienced. Keyes' depressive period lasted about four years. After a long hiatus due to severe depression, a food title, Saved by Cake, was published in February 2012. Keyes has written frankly about her clinical depression, which left her unable to sleep, read, write, or talk. Since 1995 she has published many novels and works of non-fiction.

The publisher encouraged her to submit a full-length novel and Keyes began work on her first book, Watermelon. After her treatment at the Rutland Centre she returned to her job in London and submitted her short stories to Poolbeg Press. Keyes began writing short stories while suffering from alcoholism. Keyes appeared on BBC's Imagine, aired in February 2022, explaining to Alan Yentob how she was distracted from her resolved end-of-life attempt by an episode of 'Come Dine With Me' husband and assistant Tony defused the drama by saying, 'let's see how you feel when we've finished watching it,' and so began her slow recovery from depression. In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Keyes details how her struggles with anxiety, depression, and alcoholism began at an early age. During this period she became an alcoholic and was affected by clinical depression, culminating in a suicide attempt and subsequent rehabilitation in 1995 at the Rutland Centre in Dublin. She graduated from University College Dublin with a law degree, and after completing her studies, she took an administrative job before moving to London in 1986. She was born in Limerick and raised in Cork, Galway, and in Monkstown, Dublin.

Keyes comes from a large family, with many siblings. Her writing has won both the Irish Popular Fiction Book and the Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year, each on one occasion, at the Irish Book Awards.

More than 35 million copies of her novels have been sold, and her works have been translated into 33 languages. Keyes became known for her novels Watermelon, Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, Rachel's Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Anybody Out There, and This Charming Man, which, although written in a light and humorous style, cover themes including alcoholism, depression, addiction, cancer, bereavement, and domestic violence. She is principally known for her popular fiction. Marian Keyes (born 10 September 1963) is an Irish author and radio presenter.

Watermelon marian keyes summary