At the age of thirty-four, Michael McGirr decides to take his charming and inimitable mum on the honeymoon she and her late husband never got around to having. Between recounting their hilarious travels around Europe and meditating on the historical figures who dot their voyage — everyone from Hemingway to Michelangelo to the quietly heroic people who inspire McGirr's special brand of faith — he plunges deep into his family history, unearthing sickness and depression but also moments of great love and perseverance.

Things You Get for Free is a deeply moving spiritual and intellectual journey that sparkles with McGirr's singular wit and proves the truth behind his mother's favourite saying: 'I know more than you think I know.'