Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019, an electrifying memoir from a Mexican-American US Border Patrol guard‘Stunningly good… The best thing I’ve read for ages’ James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd’s LifeFrancisco Cantú was a US Border Patrol agent from 2008 to 2012. In this extraordinary account, he describes his work in the desert along the Mexican border. He tracks humans through blistering days and frigid nights. He detains the exhausted and hauls in the dead. The line he is sworn to defend, however, begins to dissolve. Haunted by nightmares, Cantú abandons the Patrol for civilian life – but he soon faces a final confrontation with the world he believed he had escaped.‘A raw, compelling memoir… An eloquent rebuke to all those who look to build walls rather than bridges between people’ Sunday Times‘A must-read… A page-turning personal story that holds until the final page and wrenches long after’ GQ‘Remarkable… Lyrical and moving’ GuardianTrade ReviewOne of the perks of being a writer is you get sent proofs of books. Most are not for me but occasionally you get sent a gem. The Line Becomes a River is such a book. It is stunningly good. Beautiful, smart, raw, sad, poetic and humane… It’s the best thing I’ve read for ages -- James Rebanks, author of THE SHEPHERD'S LIFELyrical and moving... Cantu describes the borderlands and his work there with a raw-nerved tenderness that seems to have been won from both the landscape and the violence he was implicated in. Told in three increasingly soul-searching parts, The Line Becomes a River frequently feels momentous... Remarkable -- William Atkins * Guardian *Tender, lyrical, and with a singular poise that is unsentimental and restrained, in prose as clear as desert air -- John Paul Rathbone * Financial Times *[A] must-read memoir ... Cantú's skill as a writer proves an equal match for his material. A digestible account of US and Mexico relations, a nuanced portrait of Mexican cultural blessings and ills, The Line Becomes A River is a page-turning personal story that holds until the final page and wrenches long after. -- Olivia Cole * GQ *A raw, compelling memoir… The Line Becomes a River offers an eloquent rebuke to all those who look to build walls rather than build bridges between people. -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis"I read Free Spirit all in one go as I literally couldn't put it down.Tanya Sarne's courage and resilience are utterly awe-inspiring.You could read no better book than this on the zeitgeist of London and Hollywood in the Sixties and Seventies and the fashion world of the Eighties and Nineties." - Joanna Lumley "Wherever it was at, Tanya seemed to be. This is an honest, amusing depiction of life as founder of Ghost, the British fashion brand much loved by woman of all shapes and ages. As well as navigating life through the Sixties and onwards, here is a story of a woman boss juggling motherhood, marriage, romance and every other thread of life's rich tapestry." - Alexandra Shulman"Tanya Sarne's Ghost very quickly became the show that all the girls wanted to do - Kate Moss, Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, etc. It was really incredible casting and the girls LOVED the clothes. The party after the show was the 'party of the week' - she put a great crowd together and everyone turned up. You just wanted to be part of Tanya's gang because she's magnetic, kind and really funny." - Sam McKnight"Sarne's new memoir, Free Spirit, is a real-life picaresque novel that takes our heroine, nee Tanya Gordon, from London in the final days of the Second World War to Hollywood and from innocence to experience; from being a lonely housewife then a single mother to the boss of a fashion label worn by superstars and supermodels." - The Glasgow Herald''Inspiring, intelligent, brave, plain spoken and wild, Tanya Sarne's memoir tells the story of a woman who is tirelessly optimistic, brilliantly pragmatic and fiercely true to herself. At once a fighter and a dreamer, she has overcome the challenges her personal and professional life have thrown at her with extraordinary tenacity, humour and grace." - Susannah Frankel"If there's a woman out there who doesn't have an old Ghost dress hanging in her wardrobe, can you please tell me exactly what you were wearing in the nineties?" - Alyson Walsh @thatsnotmyage Free Spirit tells the extraordinary life story of Tanya Sarne and her triumphs, setbacks and survival.Hers is a tale of resilience, of second and third chances and of global fashion success as the founder of Ghost, with a fanbase described by Marie Claire in the Nineties as 'bigger than the Spice Girls'.Tanya's story is so much more than simply an account of incredible international fashion success (and excess). The only child of refugee parents, her life ranged from the London of the Swinging Sixties to the glamour and darkness of Hollywood in the early Seventies, to virtual destitution and abandonment with two small children in a Brazilian fishing village - all before she even dreamt of starting her own business ... or becoming one of the inspirations (with her daughter and Lynne Franks) for Absolutely Fabulous.From busking with Andrew Loog Oldham before he managed the Rolling Stones, to being invited to stay with Sharon Tate the night of the Manson murders, Tanya is one of those people who seems to have fitted more into one life than most of us would fit into nine. But, above all, she is that still all-too-rare thing, a female entrepreneur who achieved true global success solely as a result of her own hard work and talent and entirely on her own terms.'Tanya had an amazing life in Hollywood. She was a real survivor. And then she sort of knew nothing about fashion and she found herself in the fashion business just to pay the rent and survive. And then from there, she built up her own business. It's an amazing, remarkable success story.' - Lynne Franks

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Book SynopsisThe most dramatic, revealing and little-known story in Turkey's history - which illuminates the nation'Through the spellbinding career of a single, ill-fated leader, Jeremy Seal illuminates a bitterly divided country' Colin Thubron'Read this book if you're interested in Turkey. Read it if you're interested in power, hubris and redemption. Read it' Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic EnlightenmentIn the spring of 2016 travel writer Jeremy Seal went to Turkey to investigate perhaps the most dramatic, revealing and little-known episode in the country's history - the 'original' coup of 1960, which deposed the traditionalist Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. The story of Menderes - to his adoring supporters the country's founding democrat; to his sworn enemies its most infamous traitor - goes to the heart of the feud that continues to rage between the Western and secular ambitions of a minority elite and the religious and conservative instincts of the small-town majority. A Coup in Turkey is a thrilling account of the events leading up to the coup and the trials and executions that followed, a story of political subterfuge and score-settling, courtroom drama, state execution, authoritarian intolerance and ideological division. Seal travels through President Erdogan's Turkey, tracking down eye-witness accounts from survivors of the Menderes era in Istanbul, the historic metropolis, and the new capital at Ankara. As he expertly guides us through this extraordinary story, so the compelling parallels between past and present become strikingly clear, and he illuminates this troubled nation with a deep sympathy and love for the people and places he writes about. By focussing on one key event - one which many Turks regard with shame - this evocative, gripping portrait of Turkey recentres our understanding of the past and makes sense of one of Europe's most bewildering yet intriguing neighbours.'A wonderful writer' Robert MacfarlaneTrade ReviewAn excellent, occasionally disturbing and very original book -- Justin Marozzi * Sunday Times *In his [Seal's] enlightening book A Coup in Turkey, Menderes's story defies the simple political messages that are projected on to it . . . Seal's work is an excellent addition to any Turkey bookshelf, offering a beautifully wrought epitaph that Menderes's contradictory life, and the continuing aftershocks of his death, has long deserved -- Hannah Lucinda Smith * The Times *A compelling account of Menderes' rise and fall, part biography, part travelogue . . . The book's greatest strength is as a testament to the deep seam of authoritarianism that runs through Turkey's history, a reminder that Erdogan is a symptom as well as a cause of the country's current problems -- Laura Pitel * Financial Times *The coup of 1960 may seem remote, but the forces it unleashed are still at work - perhaps more than ever, which is what makes Mr Seal's book so timely * Economist *Through the spellbinding career of a single, ill-fated leader, Jeremy Seal illuminates a bitterly divided country -- Colin ThubronMeticulously researched and vivid book... Seal is an evocative writer... [and he] paints a nuanced and largely sympathetic portrait of Menderes -- Owen Matthews * Literary Review *Turkey's 1960 coup was a huge event that played out on an intimate scale. Interpreting it requires the tenacity of a reporter, the learning of an academic and the verve of a novelist. Luckily, Jeremy Seal possesses all these qualities, which he brings to bear on one of the most significant calamities of the modern Middle East. Read this book if you're interested in Turkey. Read it if you're interested in power, hubris and redemption. Read it -- Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic EnlightenmentThe road from Menderes to Erdogan is a twisted one, full of shadows, ghouls and strange delights. And I cannot imagine a better guide to it than Jeremy Seal . . . it has enough drama in it for a James Bond film . . . Seal takes us on a journey into a history that still lives, in a land still worth loving -- Maureen Freely * The Oldie *A gripping, meticulously told political drama. With great skill, tenacity and genuine feeling, Jeremy Seal re-assembles the extraordinary build-up to Turkey's 1960 coup, its courtroom aftermath and its tragic denouement. In doing so, he presents a brilliant portrait of oscillating populism and pragmatism, military force and religious fervour, democracy and state brutality, that appears as relevant to today's world as it was sixty years ago -- Philip MarsdenAn excellent historical lens through which to view the country's political landscape -- Colin Freeman * Daily Telegraph *A page turning quest into the greatest judicial murder story of its time, but also a physical journey across Anatolia and into the violent passions of Turkish politics where "not taking sides" is not an option. Which is why this book is not just a revelation, but also a love letter to the contemporary nation, written by England's pre-eminent travel writer on Turkey -- Barnaby RogersonLucid and multi-layered, backed by brilliant scholarship lightly worn, Jeremy Seal's gripping narrative moves effortlessly from the personal to the political as it charts the rise and fall of the man who, after Ataturk, reset the direction of the Turkish republic. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Turkey -- Jason GoodwinA deeply interesting meeting point between a historical account of a decisive period in the history of Turkey and a modern travelogue... A context that is vividly presented in Seal's impressive work. In A Coup in Turkey the reader will find a well-researched and thrilling book that provides a relevant approach to a relatively unknown period of Turkish history -- Marc Martorell * London School of Economics *

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Book SynopsisIn this heartfelt memoir, Yan Lianke brings the reader into his boyhood home in Song County, Henan Province, painting a richly detailed portrait of rural China during the Cultural RevolutionIt is a hard but loving childhood. Yan’s family carve out a modest existence, though food is often so scarce they have to find edible bark and clay for sustenance. Working sixteen-hour shifts in a quarry, Yan’s hands become as crooked as twigs, but the satisfaction of hard physical labour and earning money to support his family proves intoxicating. Reading novels is an escape for Yan, and he yearns to become a writer after hearing about a woman who was allowed to remain in the city of Harbin after publishing her first novel.Caught between his obligations as a son and a brother, and his longing for a new life, Yan eventually joins the army. He returns years later to find his father’s health rapidly deteriorating in the face of his desperate efforts to build a traditional tile-roofed house for each of his sons.Chronicling the extraordinary lives of his father and two uncles, as well as his own, Three Brothers is a celebration of the power of one family to hold together in the most punishing of circumstances. Sharply alive to the cyclical nature of history, and the power of familial guilt, it also shows how the pen can be a route to freedom.Trade ReviewFull of love, sorrow, and tenderness, Yan Lianke’s memoir offers a deeply heartfelt account of his family in the 1960s and 70s. Three Brothers is a must read for anyone who wants to understand post-Mao China and a new opportunity to experience more of what this extraordinary author conveys to us with his vivid and poetic style -- Xiaolu GuoYan’s heart remains firmly with the patient and stoic people who scratch a living from the soil, year after year, and for whom family is everything. It is an elegiac tribute to his father’s generation -- Isabel Hilton * Financial Times *One of the masters of modern Chinese literature -- Jung ChangYan depicts his provincial relatives with enormous heart and respect, acknowledging their sacrifices in a dark yet poignant meditation on grief and death... A memoir steeped in metaphor and ultimately tremendously moving. * Kirkus *The work of the Chinese author Yan Lianke reminds us that free expression is always in contention – to write is to risk the hand of power * Guardian *Fierce, funny, painful and playful…a great Chinese writer -- Amos OzYan is one of those rare geniuses who finds in the peculiar absurdities of his own culture the absurdities that infect all cultures * Washington Post *One of China’s most loved writers -- Isabel Hilton * Financial Times *A celebration of the power of one family to hold together int he most punishing of circumstances * Asian Art Newspaper, *Books of the Year* *

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Book Synopsis‘It was always going to be difficult to follow Lowborn, but Kerry Hudson is Kerry Hudson and she has done it – cleverly, honestly, brilliantly’ RODDY DOYLE'Filled with colour: food, Prague, illness, love, the challenges of having a baby in a foreign country and making your own story' AMY LIPTROTIn Newborn, prizewinning writer Kerry Hudson navigates trying to build a nourishing, safe and loving family - without a blueprint to work fromKerry Hudson is celebrated for her emotionally and politically powerful writing about growing up in poverty. Her books and journalism have changed the conversation and touched countless lives.In this new book she asks: what next, after a childhood like hers? What hope is there of creating a different life for herself, let alone future generations? We see how Kerry found love, what it took to decide to start a family of her own and how fragile every step of the journey towards parenthood was. All along the way, she faces obstacles that would test the strongest foundations, from struggles with fertility to being locked down in a Prague maternity hospital to a marriage in crisis. But over and over again, her love, hope, fight -- and determination to break patterns and give her son a different life -- win through and light her path.Newborn is a beautiful, empowering memoir about creating a family in the midst of chaos, and learning new ways to find happiness. It continues the journey Kerry started in her bestselling memoir Lowborn, illuminating her experiences of becoming a mother, reshaping her future and reclaiming her identity.PRAISE FOR KERRY HUDSON:‘It’s not just Kerry Hudson’s writing that is vibrant, authentic and true, it’s the person herself, it’s where the writing comes from; a wise and generous heart’ KIT DE WAAL'Hudson’s resilience, grace and humility are staggering. She’s an absolute inspiration’ DOUGLAS STUART‘Kerry Hudson blew me away, opened my eyes’ PHILIPPA PERRYTrade ReviewHudson nails many parents' innermost thoughts while asking if she can really give her son a different life * Red *

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Book SynopsisA Bricklayer's Guide to the Galaxy . . . The inspirational memoir of a former brickie who followed his passion for the stars and built his own observatory. Perfect for readers of Robert Macfarlane, Helen Macdonald and James Rebanks - as well as fans of Brian Cox and the BBC’s Sky at Night Gary Fildes left school at sixteen, got a trade like most of his mates and was soon married with four kids. His life seemed set. But he had a secret. Something he only practised late at night with a few like-minded friends. Then one day, middle age approaching alarmingly, he acted on his lifelong passion. He finally came out. As an astronomer.Today, Gary is the founder and lead astronomer of Kielder Observatory, one of the top ten stargazing sites in the world, which he also helped to build. Situated in the beautiful forests of Kielder, Northumberland, within Europe’s largest protected dark sky park, it offers some of the UK's most spectacular views of stars, planets and galaxies.An Astronomer’s Tale is Gary’s inspirational story: part memoir, part nature writing, part seasonal guide to the night sky. It is a book brimming with passion; and at a time when the world is captivated by space, it will leave you ready to get out there and explore the wonders of the skies for yourself.Trade ReviewI can heartily recommend this book as an inspiration to all public outreach volunteers as, like Gary, they too reach for the stars * BBC Sky at Night Magazine *The observing tips are honed by years of experience, and Fildes excels at capturing the atmosphere at public observatories and star parties * Physics World *Kielder is a stargazer's paradise -- Robert MacfarlaneMove over Brian Cox * Daily Telegraph *Gary’s story reminds us of the old saying that our destiny is not in the stars but in ourselves. He is proof that dreamers from the most unlikely backgrounds can turn their hopes into reality, if they get lucky and work hard... A moving and informative read * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis*The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller*Well hark at you, stumbling upon my autobiography. Bet you wouldn't have put money on that three years ago, eh?! Please don't stress yourself out too much, though, it's actually socially acceptable nowadays that you're interested. Firstly I'd like to emphasise that I have WRITTEN THIS BOOK MYSELF, so be assured you're getting the TOOTH, the WHOLE TOOTH and NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH! (Which was my original choice of title, but babe, we're so over that.) This book documents my story, year by year, from my humble beginnings growing up in the East End of London, becoming one of the nation's most talked-about people overnight to finally moving up the spectrum from guilty pleasure, and getting nearer to national treasure.It will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly you'll discover who I really am. If it doesn't do any of those things you're not legally entitled to a refund - just clearing that up ;-).I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This book has been like therapy, and LORD was I in need. Enjoy!Trade Reviewan enjoyable book… it feels like we’re getting a detailed look at his life * Metro *an honest read, chock-full of his outrageous exploits. * The Sun *My favourite holiday read ... Everything I wanted to know about him & more! * Ruth Langsford *As honest and funny as the man himself * Attitude *

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Book SynopsisThe story that captured the imagination of the world... In 1969 Harrods department store in London sold a three month old lion cub to two young Australians, John Rendall and Anthony (Ace) Bourke. They called him Christian. For a year Christian lived happily and safely with John and Ace and his human 'pride', initially in the World's End on the King's Road in Chelsea, where Derek Cattani first began photographing him. When Christian outgrew his London environment he moved first to the home of Bill Travers in Surrey. He was then entrusted to the care of George Adamson in Kenya, who with his wife Joy, had successfully rehabilitated their lioness Elsa, the subject of Joy's Book Born Free. A year after Christian had been living in the wild John and Ace returned to Kenya to try and find him. The film clip of their emotional reunion has now been viewed by over 100 million people on YouTube. In 1973 Christian disappeared into the wild forever. George Adamson had uniquely rehabilitated a 5th generation zoo-bred lion. John and Ace's first book about Christian was a million seller in the 1970s, and enjoyed a huge resurgence of interest after their YouTube clip went viral in 2006. This brand new book from Bradt, collects Derek Cattani's never-before-seen pictures of Christian and updates the story to the present day, including the story of their YouTube sensation and a chapter on the murder of George Adamson. When John and Ace took Christian to Kenya in 1970 there were an estimated 300,00 lions in Africa. Today there are fewer than 25,000.Trade Review'A new must-read book' Sloane Square magazine 'Well balanced and delightfully written account of an extraordinary adventure, brimming with fine pictures' Kensington and Chelsea Today 'The remarkable true story of a lion called Christian.' Catworld 'Brings (Christian's) remarkable story to the present day.' Your Cat Recommended reading London Property South, Big Issue, Best, The Resident, Time & Leisure, and SW ResidentTable of ContentsChapter 1: From Ilfracombe Zoo to Harrods Chapter 2: Lion at the World's End Chapter 3: Indoors and Outdoors Chapter 4: Life on the King's Road Chapter 5: Preparing for Africa Chapter 6: Out to Africa Chapter 7: Joining the Pride Chapter 8: Tragedy and Reunion Chapter 9: A Final Farewell Chapter 10: Christian's New World Chapter 11: George's Murder Chapter 12: Mkomazi Chapter 13: Searching for Signs of Christian Post Script: A Youtube Sensation: Lions in Trouble

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Book SynopsisThe Taverna by the Sea is an enchanting, funny, poignant travel memoir about answering the call of adventure by taking on the challenge of running a Greek beach taverna. During a walking holiday on the island of Karpathos, a chance encounter with a Greek-American hotel owner results in a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Jennifer Barclay. The best-selling travel writer and long-term resident of Greece drops everything, returning with dog and tent to the remote bay that will form her home for one hectic, event-filled summer. This book offers a rare account of life in north Karpathos in the South Aegean, famous for its traditional community and dramatic, rugged landscape. While primarily a light, engaging, amusing read full of anecdotes, one-liners, twists and turns - perfect for summer - Barclay's fourth book about life in Greece also conveys the life-affirming importance of trusting one's instincts, taking risks and grasping opportunities. Wake with Jennifer to experience a summer of pink dawns over the olive grove and an empty bay, and swim with her in moonlight, hearing only the waves. Or help yourself to local cuisine - creamy yoghurt and local honey and warm figs, olive oil and rosemary, freshly baked bread, and wine on tap. Alongside a cast of characters from farmers to fishermen, mad guests and a wicked witch, meet Minas the hotel owner, a creative, unconventional Greek-American with the ability to fix anything mechanical and create money out of thin air with food, plus a penchant for drinking, singing and falling asleep. Experience days full of music, days of no running water, and days with a goat tied to a tree - but also nights when the overworked taverna manager awoke convinced there was a large fish in the tent, and customers outside waiting to be served. In The Taverna by the Sea, Barclay reveals what happens behind the scenes of an apparently blissful, peaceful paradise, capturing both the magic and the difficulties of island life. Underpinning an entertaining read for lovers of Greece and its cuisine is an inspiring call to live life to the full - and even escape the rat race.Trade Review"A feel-good book to put you instantly in the holiday mood" - Irini Tzortzoglou, MasterChef champion 2019 and author of Under the Olive Tree "Full of enthusiastic, vivid descriptions of the landscape, tender reminiscences of people. a love letter to the Greek summer" - Kathimerini, Greece "This book has changed forever how I see the tavernas by the sea that we so often visit (and love) while in Greece" - mygreektravellingspoon.comTable of ContentsContents The Hotel on the Mountain The Taverna at the Beach Open for Business Hooked Birthday Lunch and Live Music New Arrivals Speedy George Goat Dancing End of the Season After the Summer

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Book SynopsisHow do you remember the summers of your childhood? For Laurie Lee they were flower-crested, heady, endless days. Here is an evocation of summer like no other – a remote valley filled with the scent of hay, jazzing wasps, blackberries plucked and gobbled, and games played until the last drop of dusk. Lee’s joyful and stirring writing captures the very essence of England’s golden season. Selected from the book Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee ‘An enchanting book, an exquisite farewell, not only to childhood, and boyhood, but also to an England that has vanished’ J.B. PriestlyVINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.Trade ReviewAn enchanting book, an exquisite farewell, not only to childhood, and boyhood, but also to an England that has vanished * J. B. Priestly *Imagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *

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Book Synopsis'The classic of memoir of inter-generational strife, with an afterword from author of The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry and an introduction from Anthony Quinn. Subtitled ‘a study of two temperaments’ Edmund Gosse's childhood memoir tells the often fractious, often comic story of Gosse’s relationship with his authoritarian father. A pioneering naturalist and marine biologist, Philip Henry Gosse's strictly religious worldview is brought into crisis by the discoveries of Charles Darwin and the death of his wife - and Edmund’s mother - Emily. As Edmund breaks away from his father's influence, the evolution from one epoch to the next is described in all of its struggle, humour and glory.

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Book SynopsisThe hawk was everything I wanted to be: solitary, self-possessed, free from grief, and numb to the hurts of human life. How do we carry on when someone close to us dies? Is it simply a case of putting one foot in front of the other in a bleak new world or do we need something more? Reeling with grief after the sudden death of her father, Helen Macdonald found herself turning to the wild for comfort. With breathtaking honesty and insight, she recounts her months spent taming a goshawk and how, finally, this strange kinship led her to the first tentative steps to recovery. Selected from H is for Hawk VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human. Discover the Vintage Minis ‘Head Space’ series: Therapy by Stephen Grosz Family by Mark HaddonTrade ReviewThey look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book * Stylist *Literature for the Twitter generation * Big Issue *

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Book SynopsisThe only autobiography by the great Roland Barthes, philosopher, literary theorist and semiotician.This is the autobiography of one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century. As idiosyncratic as its author, Barthes plays both commentator and subject to reveal his tastes, habits, passions and regrets. No event, relationship or thought is given priority over any other; no attempt to construct a narrative is made. And yet, via a series of vignettes, Barthes's life and views on a multitude of subjects emerge - from money and love to language and truth.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ADAM PHILLIPSTrade ReviewHighly original, extremely fertile and inventive, [Barthes] really does represent, in a peculiarly qualified way, a new kind of writing, and he continually discovers new ways of writing about writing... It is a remarkable book * New York Times Book Review *Anyone who saw [Barthes] as only the stern structuralist, dissecting signs, symbols and systems, must have missed the personal touches that would eventually burst into the open in his weird and wonderful “anti-autobiography” which begins with the announcement that its contents “must all be considered as if spoken by a character in a novel” and proceeds to jump from first to second to third person, accumulating scenes and lists and essay fragment * Telegraph *Though Barthes left behind disciples, there can be no replacing him; his brilliance had a wavelength all its own

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Book SynopsisThe true story behind the ITV series, StephenFormer Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll is most famous for being the man who finally secured convictions for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, a case previously mired by claims of institutional racism and corruption. For Clive, it was the pinnacle of a 35-year career with the world's most famous police force, the Metropolitan Police Service.Clive's prodigious rise through the ranks of the Met saw him front some of the most high-profile units at Scotland Yard. He was put in charge of their policy for sexual offences, domestic violence, child protection and the paedophile unit before heading up the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force tackling their backlist of cold cases. From action-packed moments chasing down criminals to more tender occasions, like gaining the trust of a murder victim's family, to making crucial legal history, and unearthing huge national scandals, In Pursuit of the Truth is the definitive account of modern day policing, its successes and failings included, seen through the eyes of a man who has dedicated his life to making a difference. This is a book that every part of society can learn from.

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Book Synopsis‘The first time Shocks saw Amber coming, he lowered his head so she could wrap her arms around his nose. It was as if they understood each other’s pain. Like two broken beings, helping each other.’ When Shocks the donkey was left for dead on a farm in Ireland, no one ever thought he would make a full recovery. When Amber and her twin sister Hope were born 26 weeks premature, it was Amber who was separated from her family and rushed into theatre for an emergency tracheostomy. Her parents were given the devastating news that she had Cerebral Palsy and would be unlikely to walk or talk. Then Amber met Shocks at the Donkey Sanctuary and their lives were changed for good. This is their touching story of recovery through friendship.

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Book SynopsisBe inspired this New Year by a young woman's journey through life, love and lyricsWhen I feel like I'm going mad, I write. A lot of my worst fears have come true; fears that felt so big I could barely hold them in my head. I was convinced that when they happened, the world would end.But the world didn't end. In fact, it pushed on and demanded to keep spinning through all sorts of mayhem, and I got through it. And because I persisted, I learned lessons about how to be a stronger, kinder, better human – lessons you can only learn by going through these sorts of things. This is for the people with minds that just don't stop; for those who feel everything a thousand times more than others around them. Here are some words I wrote.

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Book Synopsis'A stunning self-portrait of a woman trying to make sense of the misogyny and sexism she has faced throughout her life.' - TIME MagazineIn early 2021, popular artist Anna Marie Tendler checked herself into a psychiatric hospital following a year of crippling anxiety, depression and self-harm. Over two weeks, she underwent myriad psychological tests, participated in numerous therapy sessions, connected with fellow patients and experienced profound breakthroughs, such as when a doctor noted, 'There is a you inside that feels invisible to those looking at you from the outside.'In Men Have Called Her Crazy, Tendler recounts her hospital experience as well as pivotal moments in her life that preceded and followed. This is a memoir that speaks to every woman who has been made to question her own sanity, doubt herself and her worth. Anna Marie Tendler's powerful writing, insight and clarity enabled her to find a way out of the narratives that had b

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Book SynopsisOne farm. Two worlds. Three generations. Fuelled by dreams of a rural idyll, Lorna Sixsmith and her husband swap the 9 to 5 for a return to her family's ancestral farm at Garrendenny. They love the fields and lanes of their corner of Ireland where their black and white herd flourishes, the land where the patterns of their lives echo those of generations of Sixsmiths before them. But a rural existence isn't a heaven on earth. Bad weather, runaway bulls, temperamental farm machinery and cows that refuse to be milked can test anyone's patience. But not for too long – the fields, the animals and the laughter always win out. Warm, witty and wise, Lorna Sixsmith effortlessly mixes family memories, social history and her own hard-won insights into life on the land. Praise for Till the Cows Come Home 'A mesmerising tale of Irish farming ... From top cow Delilah to the stranger at the silage table, the jobs, joys and challenges are skilfully tied together … Lorna Sixsmith is a natural storyteller in the vein of Alice Taylor.' – ANN FITZGERALD, author of A Year on Our Farm and journalist with Farming Independent 'A strong female farming voice and a vivid sense of a rural childhood … Drink in rural life for the first time or get lost in pleasant memories. A must-read memoir.' – SHARON THOMPSON, author of The Abandoned

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Book Synopsis"Beautifully written ... as funny as you would hope."The TimesOLIVE & MABEL: two of the internet's favourite dogs!ANDREW COTTER: one of our best-loved commentators.Olive and Mabel are the Labradors that broke the internet. With more than 50 million views on social media, Andrew Cotter's brilliant commentaries on videos of his Labradors have resonated with dog owners and sports fans around the world, giving us all something to smile about in this most testing of years, as Olive and Mabel entertained us with their Dinner Contest, Game of Bones, Zoom Meeting, Online Dating and more over the last six months.Now, in OLIVE, MABEL & ME, Andrew tells the heart-warming story of life with his two famous Labradors. This is the full story of their unexpected rise to internet stardom, their lives together, how the dogs are dealing with their new-found fame (celebrity fans, more offers of biscuits etc), and how trips to the beaches and the mountains help them all find peace and happiness away from a hectic world.Above all, OLIVE, MABEL & ME is a book about the love we have for our dogs and the companionship and joy they bring. And about how we can all benefit from being just a little bit more Labrador...Brilliantly observed, touching and laugh-out-loud funny, OLIVE, MABEL & ME is a treat for dog lovers everywhere.Trade ReviewBeautifully written... as funny as you would hope. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe astonishing true story of Glasgow gangland confidant James McIntyre, aka Jimmy Two GunsJames 'Jimmy Two Guns' McIntyre was Glasgow's go-to gangland lawyer and consigliere to one of Scotland's foremost crime families. His maverick approach to the law and a client list that included some of the most feared gangland figures of the time - including the McGoverns and Paul Ferris - ensured that he was always in demand but under the constant scrutiny of the authorities.Now Jimmy Two Guns recounts the cases he handled, the strokes he pulled, plus his arrests, a high-speed car chase with the drug squad, his time in 'the cooler' for allegedly attempting to murder a cop and much more. He tells how he bounced back after being the target of a near-fatal underworld hit, before being arrested by an armed response unit for possession of two pistols, and reveals with wit and a sharp pen what it's really like being a lawyer f

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Book SynopsisIn this candid memoir, Amanda Brown chronicles the unimaginable sexual abuse she suffered from the age of eight at the hands of her stepfather, Davy Tweed.A lauded rugby player for both Ulster and Ireland, a DUP councillor and prominent Orangeman, Tweed maintained the veneer of upstanding citizen through his political and sporting life, yet the story at home was very different. No Peace Until He? s Dead is a raw and unflinching account of Amanda? s childhood years, which were marred by both the domestic abuse suffered by her mother at Davy? s hands and Amanda? s own appalling trauma, as well as her fight for justice against her abuser.This transformative memoir was born of Amanda? s courageous pursuit of recovery, and her unwavering determination to find her voice and advocate for other survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. No Peace Until He? s Dead forces us to confront a subject so often obscured by fear and shame, and also serves as a testament that those who have suffered can overcome their past and find happiness.

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Book SynopsisThe tale that follows is not another cliched collection of rock'n'roll debaucheries (sorry) nor is it another tired fable of triumph over adversity (you're welcome). It's the story of a half-deaf kid from a tiny, remote village in South Wales who was hailed as a genius by the UK's biggest radio station and headhunted by major record labels, only for the music industry to collapse. It crashed hard, taking with it an entire generation of talented artists who would never now get their shot. CNN called it 'music's lost decade'. Along the way, there are goodies, baddies, gun-toting label execs, life-saving surgeons, therapy, true love, loyalty, hope, breakdowns, suicidal managers, betrayal, drummers and way too many hangovers. James Kennedy shows that the best lessons are to be learned from good losers. It really is all about the journey. Part memoir, part expose of the music world's murky underbelly, Noise Damage is emotional, painfully honest, funny, informative and ridiculous. It's also a celebration of the life-changing magic of music.Trade Review‘History, it’s said, is written by the winners, but this insightful, candid autobiography from Kyshera’s James Kennedy suggests otherwise. A journey through disillusion, the machinations of the music industry and hard-won self-acceptance, it's required, revelatory reading’ - Metal Hammer, ‘The indefatigable Welsh misfit’s entertaining memoir of underachievement – ebullient writing style and hard-earned hungover wisdom’ - Classic Rock, 'Both Adrian Smith's autobiography and Rob Halford's tome are good, but neither match the raw passion of Noise Damage. A splendid read about the trials and tribulations of trying to break into the music stratosphere, it's a book that every aspiring musician or band leader should own' - Metal Talk, 'A refreshingly different addition to the crowded shelves of rock autobiographies. This is partly because James tells the familiar booze-fuelled-tour-antics story from a different perspective; he tells the story of the ninety-nine percent of bands that don't make it. But Noise Damage also stands out because it is remarkably well-written, with humour, humility and insight' - Catherine Fearns, V13, 'A wonderful volume that does unique things with so many familiar genre tropes. I ended the book feeling I'd read of a life worth living, been encouraged to live my own, and wanting to wish Kennedy all the luck in the world: anyone who lives this hard, works this hard, and writes this well, deserves it' - Nick Soulsby, Trebuchet Magazine, 'An absolute must-read for anyone attempting a career in music. A genuinely powerful testimony' - Darren Johnson, Get Ready to Rock!

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Book Synopsis'Fee writes with stunning honesty ... utterly breathtaking' - BustleA beautiful memoir from an exciting young writer, Meg Fee, on finding her way in New York City. Full of the dramas and quiet moments that make up a life, told with humour, heart, and hope. In Places I Stopped on the Way Home, Meg Fee plots a decade of her life in New York City - from falling in love at the Lincoln Center to escaping the roommate (and bedbugs) from hell on Thompson Street, chasing false promises on 66th Street and the wrong men everywhere, and finding true friendships over glasses of wine in Harlem and Greenwich Village. Weaving together her joys and sorrows, expectations and uncertainties, aspirations and realities, the result is an exhilarating collection of essays about love and friendship, failure and suffering, and above all hope. Join Meg on her heart-wrenching journey, as she cuts the difficult path to finding herself and finding home.Trade ReviewIf you ever needed a book that would be both relatable as hell when you're in your lowest dating woes, and act as the most soothing balm for heartbreak, then you need to add this book in your life.' * Bustle *A beautifully warm-hearted and vulnerable memoir. I enjoyed every single page.' * Emma Gannon, author & broadcaster, Ctrl Alt Delete *Meg writes so movingly about the way one's ghosts can inhabit a city, and how courage comes from embracing them.' * Daisy Buchanan, author, How to Be a Grown-Up *Places I Stopped on the Way Home is perfect - an exquisite articulation of loneliness and searching.' * Laura Jane Williams, author, Ice Cream for Breakfast *Without question the best book I've read this year, and one that I will return to again and again, Places I Stopped on the Way Home is everything I love in a book.' * The Literary Edit *A collection of raw yet beautifully crafted snapshots of Meg Fee's painful coming-of-age in the city she had dreamed of inhabiting ... touched me far more than I had expected.' * A Life in Books *Places I Stopped on the Way Home is an engaging account of a young woman shaping a life that shows her what she does and doesn't want, ultimately allowing her to become the person she wants to be . I found myself frequently marking lines and wondering how Fee had sussed so many of these things long before I did.' * The Writes of Woman *

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Book Synopsis'Shearwater is sheer delight, a luminous portrait of a magical seabird which spans the watery globe' Daily Mail.'Charming and impassioned ... a rich tribute to an extraordinary bird.' Horatio Clare, author of A Single Swallow and Heavy Light.A very personal mix of memoir and natural history from the author of Liquid Gold.Ten weeks into its life, a Manx shearwater chick will emerge from its burrow and fly 8,000 miles from the west coast of the British Isles to the South Atlantic. It will be unlikely to touch land again for four years.Part memoir, part homage to wilderness, Shearwater traces the author's 50-year obsession with one of nature's supreme travellers. In the finest tradition of nature writing, Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Liquid Gold - described by Mary Colwell (Curlew Moon) as 'a book that ignites joy and warmth' - unpicks the science behind its incredible journey; and into the story of a year in the shearwater's life, he threads the inspirational influence of his Hebridean grandmother who instilled in him a love of wild places and wild animals.Full of lightly-worn knowledge, acute human observation and self-deprecating humour, Shearwater brings to life a truly mysterious and charismatic bird.Trade ReviewCharming and impassioned ... a rich tribute to an extraordinary bird. -- Horatio Clare, author of A Single Swallow and Heavy LightA truly lovely book. -- Mary Colwell, author of Curlew MoonThis is wonderful: written with light and love. A tonic for these times. -- Stephen Rutt, author of The Seafarers: A Journey Among BirdsA delightful account of a lifelong passion for seabirds. -- Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of The Swallow: A BiographyA memoir lit by wry humour and vivid prose. -- Brian Jackman, author of Wild About BritainThis is a book that birders will enjoy because it is stitched together around a fairly amazing bird, but if you've never heard of shearwaters you will still get a lot out of this book if you are interested in nature, in adventures, in foreign parts, in landscapes or in people ... a very good read. -- Mark AveryA great read * birdwatching.co.uk *[A] lovely blend of natural history and memoir ... Morgan-Grenville beautifully blends science, memories, and wonder in this striking homage to an amazing bird. * Booklist *Shearwater is sheer delight, a luminous portrait of a magical seabird which spans the watery globe * Daily Mail *A captivating mix of memoir, travel and ornithological obsession ... A book not just for seabirders or island-addicts, but for all who have ever gazed longingly out to sea and pondered vast possibilities and connections. * BBC Wildlife magazine *[A] pleasant mixture of facts and an imagined narrative of the shearwater ... readers will enjoy relaxing into the story. * Library Journal *A book that delights, informs, amuses and concerns you page by page * Winchester Today *'Morgan-Grenville is a delightful writer ... his writerly tone here is perfect: serious, but not hysterical or preachy, with a gleam of hope evident.' * 10,000birds.com *'A beautiful mix of memoir and natural history ... entirely infectious.' * Scottish Field *

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Book SynopsisA perceptive exploration of poetry, race, and otherness from one of our most promising voices in criticism. Vidyan Ravinthiran was born in the north of England to Sri Lankan Tamils, and moved to the United States five years ago. Considering identity in both its political and psychological senses - as these concepts fuse, or fail to, at different times and in different places - he leaps adventurously between memoir and criticism, understanding his life through poetry, and vice versa. Ranging from Andrew Marvell to Divya Victor, he writes both about and through poems, discussing Sri Lanka; experiences of racism and resilience; intergenerational trauma; pandemic parenting in an autism family; relationships shaped by the internet; growing up with a speech impediment and being sent by one's aspirational brown parents to elocution lessons; and the relative invisibility of South Asians in Western television and film. This electric, compelling hybrid memoir discovers a new way of writing about the self and also literature.

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Book SynopsisAn eye-opening account from inside an ultra-secret Customs unitMark Perlstrom is no stranger to money laundering, drug smuggling and crooked firms.In the late 1980s he started working for HM Customs and was quickly thrown in the deep end, joining Operation C-Chase, an undercover investigation that penetrated Pablo Escobar's mighty Medellin cartel, brought down the corrupt BCCI bank and stopped London's gangs from moving their ill-gotten gains around the capital.As part of the Uniforms - the new, secret, anti-money-laundering squad - high-speed car chases, bugging homes and spying on targets was day-to-day business. Told by a true insider and revealing never-before-told-secrets of the industry, India Uniform Nine lays bare the intense rivalry between crime-fighting organisations and how that leads to corruption, chaos and some scarcely believable antics in the covert world. And how Mark's own operation was nearly scuppered by a US Customs bungle.Trade ReviewAn excellent read. The author has been there and got the t-shirt, so it's completely authentic in feel and style. He was instrumental in the success of the case and was at significant personal risk during the operation and, more importantly, still lives with that risk. -- Cameron Addicott, author of The InterceptorFrom the very start of India Uniform Nine, Mark Perlstrom takes us on a fascinating journey inside the world of Customs investigations. From drug trafficking, money laundering and VAT fraud to the internal politics of working with the police, security services and corrupt colleagues along the way. An eye-opening and entertaining read throughout. -- Matt Calveley, author of Cops and Horrors

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Book Synopsis** Includes foreword from Susie Green, CEO of charity Mermaids ** Mama, something went wrong in your tummy. And it made me come out as a boy instead of a girl. When Marlo Mack's three year old says these words, she's not surprised - but she's completely unprepared. Marlo gave birth to a beautiful baby boy - M - and brushed his pleas for pink clothes and dresses aside as a young child's playful experimentation with gender. But when her son begs to be put back in her tummy because he came out wrong, she knows she must listen more closely.How to Be a Girl is a raw and unflinching memoir of a mother grappling with her child's transition. Always wanting to support M, Marlo - whose podcast of the same name has over 1.3 million downloads - finds her liberal values surprisingly challenged, and as she learns more about gender and its varied expressions, she questions what being a girl - or a boy, or something else entirely - really means.Trade ReviewThis beautifully written book is about parental love, pure and simple. And I don't mean just the rhetorical "love" claimed by all parents when things are going easy, but the unconditional "LOVE" required when faced with something in your child that makes them-and you-potential pariahs. There is so much to learn here from Marlo and her gorgeous daughter M. -- Christine Burns MBE, author and transgender activistI'm so grateful to Marlo and her daughter for sharing their story. As a dad who is trans, I'm excited to read it with my own child one day - to have this among the diversity of experiences we can explore and reflect on. Despite the obstacles all kinds of trans families face, resources like this make me feel lucky to be trans and to be a parent at this moment in time. -- Freddy McConnellThis book is powerful because of its honesty and openness. -- Fox Fisher, artist, film-maker and campaignerMarlo Mack's How to Be a Girl is an extraordinary mother-daughter story and also a wondrously ordinary one, not just about a mother's unconditional love but also about listening to one another, learning together, following your mama-gut as well as your mama-heart, and leaping into the unknown with a child - your child - as your guide. -- Laurie Frankel , New York Times-bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is and One Two ThreeHow to Be a Girl exemplifies the true meaning of unconditional love ... -- Jazz JenningsA stunning story. . . . Smart, honest, and deeply personal, this illuminating work should be required reading. * Publishers Weekly *Transgender children are in the news. Bobbing in the sea of headlines is a growing number of memoirs written by parents of transgender kids. . . . The latest is among the best-Marlo Mack's How to Be a Girl. . . Mack's prose is accessible and smart, by turns witty and searching. Her storytelling is sprinkled with the kind of helpful explanations one might find in a parenting advice book. . . . [Yet] Mack's touch is light, like a friend making a wholehearted suggestion over coffee. * Women's Review of Books *

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Book Synopsis*SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZE 2024*'A transfixingly readable amalgam of memoir and history... Superbly written and researched.... [Meller] has turned the raw material of her life into literature'Ian Thomson, author of Primo LeviRachel Meller was never close to her aunt Lisbeth, a cool, unemotional woman with a drawling Viennese-Californian accent, a cigarette in her hand. But when Lisbeth died, she left Rachel an intricately carved Chinese box with a sunflower clasp. Inside the box were photographs, letters and documents that led Rachel to uncover a story she had never known: that of a passionate Jewish teenager growing up in elegant Vienna, who was caught up by war, and forced to flee to Shanghai. Far from home, in a strange city, Lisbeth and her parents build a new life - a life of small joys and great hardship, surrounded by many others who, like them, have fled Hitler and the Nazis. 1930s Shanghai is a metropolis where the old rules do not apply - a city of fab

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Book SynopsisIn 1963, a young man from Limerick took his £25 savings and journeyed to London to become an actor. To pay his way through drama school he worked as a security guard (once for The Beatles) and served drinks to Miss World contestants at the Lyceum Theatre, then a Mecca Ballroom. While still a student, he was picked to play a small role in Andorra in the inaugural season of the National Theatre at the Old Vic...Fifty years later, while appearing in his fifty-sixth NT production – Pirandello’s Liolà – he was invited by Director Nicholas Hytner to take part in 50 Years on Stage, the NT’s anniversary celebration. Four days on, he is on stage in New York for the Press Night of Trevor Nunn’s production of Beckett’s All That Fall with Michael Gambon. James Hayes has worked with most of the leading actors in the country from Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Anthony Hopkins and Paul Scofield to Michael Gambon, Ian McKellen, Penelope Wilton and Anne-Marie Duff. Touring the world, he has played in Greece, Poland, the USA, Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea and China. And, of course, Milton Keynes, Sunderland and Truro! Shouting in the Evenings covers many of the famous (Amadeus) and infamous (The Romans in Britain) productions Hayes has appeared in, and records with affection and humour the changes along the way. It will appeal to seasoned and amateur actors alike, as well as those with an interest in all things theatrical.

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Book SynopsisIn this long-awaited book Donald Trelford recalls his adventures and misadventures during nearly sixty years in journalism. Described as the 'Rocky Marciano of newspaper politics', he fought off politicians, owners and predators over a quarter-century at The Observer, including Rupert Murdoch, who said afterwards: 'I made the mistake of underestimating Donald Trelford.' One owner sold The Observer because the editor refused to bow to pressure to support Margaret Thatcher. Another tried to sack him for writing the first report of atrocities committed by Robert Mugabe's forces in Zimbabwe. He tells for the first time the inside story of his complex relationship with Tiny Rowland - often tense, sometimes hilarious - and about his role in the notorious Pamella Bordes affair. He recalls how he was held at gunpoint by the FBI and strip-searched by the KGB. How a black dictator poked him in the chest and yelled: 'Keep out of my politics, white man.' While he was editor, The Observer won more press awards than any other newspaper. Trelford himself was described by Peter Preston, the former Guardian editor, as "a crusader...multi-talented, hands-on, a master of sport as well as news, shrewd and decisive. " Written with style and humour, this is a compelling account of an important period in the history of the British press.

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Book SynopsisFrom 1999 to 2009, Damian McBride worked at the heart of the Treasury and No. 10. He was a pivotal member of Gordon Brown’s inner circle before a notorious scandal propelled him out of Downing Street and onto the front pages. When he released his memoir Power Trip in 2013, its frank depiction of the dirty work that props up British politics was greeted with shock, disgust and awe. Never before had the lid been blown off the Westminster system with such ferocity. Throughout the book, McBride made no effort to cleanse his reputation; instead, he sought relentlessly to expose the manipulation, plotting and skullduggery that lay at New Labour’s core. Ten years on, Power Trip remains the essential guide to understanding the murky underbelly of modern politics and how it can shape and corrupt those who inhabit it for too long. Now updated with a new foreword, this is the 10th anniversary edition of the most explosive political memoir of the past decade.

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 'Honest, raw, moving' CHRISTINE BURNS 'Radical vulnerability at its finest' OWL FISHER'Highly recommended' SAN FRANCISCO REVIEW OF BOOKSThis is the deeply personal and witty account of growing up as the kid who never fitted in. Transgender blogger Mia Violet reflects on her life and how at 26 she came to finally realise she was 'trans enough' to be transgender, after years of knowing she was different but without the language to understand why. From bullying, heartache and a botched coming out attempt, through to counselling, Gender Identity Clinics and acceptance, Mia confronts the ins and outs of transitioning, using her charged personal narrative to explore the inaccuracies of trans representation and confront what the media has gotten wrong. Deeply affecting, and narrated with warmth and honesty, this is an essential read for anyone who has had to fight to be themselves.Trade ReviewHonest, raw, moving: this intimate blow by blow account of a young trans woman's odyssey to personal acceptance and authenticity really ought to be compulsory reading for anyone who ever thought in ignorance that a change of gender was a whimsical adventure. -- Christine Burns MBE, author and transgender activistAn honest, quirky and personal story that gives valuable insight into the life of trans people. In the midst of storm of misinformation of trans people, this book serves as one of many that tell the stories of trans people from an authentic and an engaging perspective. Radical vulnerability at its finest. -- Owl Fisher, writer and co-director of My GenderationTable of ContentsIntroduction. 1. Expectations. 2. Puberty, Part One. 3. Disbelief. 4. Denial. 5. Bargaining. 6. Acceptance (Kind Of...). 7. Acceptance (But For Real This Time). 8. Coming Out. 9. Growing Pains. 10. Home. 11. Work. 12. Puberty, part Two. 13. Homecoming. 14. Reflection. 15. Changes. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisAMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 2021 STONEWALL HONOR BOOKMeet Kimberly, a regular suburban housewife and mother, whose discovery later in life that she was born intersex fuelled her to become an international human rights defender and globally-recognised activist. Charting her intersex discovery and her journey to self-acceptance, this book movingly portrays how being intersex impacted Kimberly's personal and family life, as well as her career. From uncovering a secret that was intentionally kept from her, to coming out to her family and friends and fighting for intersex rights, her candid and empowering story helps breakdown barriers and misconceptions of intersex people and brings to light the trauma and harmful impact medical intervention continues to have on the intersex community. Written from a non-queer perspective, and filled with much-needed, straightforward information and advice about what it means to be intersex, this is a vital and timely resource for intersex people and their families, as well as the general reader.Trade ReviewYou will laugh, cry, and get furious alongside Zieselman as she beautifully shares her raw and unbelievable story that will change everything you thought you knew about bodies, identities, and the white, straight, well-to-do mother next door. -- Georgiann Davis, PhD, sociology professor, scholar-activist, and author of Contesting Intersex: The Dubious DiagnosisIn XOXY Kimberly Zieselman engages and inspires by sharing the intimate details of her burgeoning awareness at mid-life that she was born intersex, and the incredible journey she has been on to help herself and others. It is a gripping narrative that explores how having had information withheld- and lies told to her by her doctors- even more than her unique biology, has impacted her life. It also chronicles Zieselman's tireless efforts as an advocate and leader to educate those unfamiliar with intersex, and to eradicate the shame, stigma, and discrimination that the 1 in 50 of us who inhabit intersex bodies experience almost daily. She documents how organized medicine continues to perpetuate secrecy and shame by performing harmful and largely irreversible cosmetic surgeries on intersex infants with the singular objective of making their bodies conform to gender norms. Zieselman is a caped and capable crusader for change, and her book is filled with glimmers of hope for the current and future generation of intersex children. This book is for anyone who has ever felt different, or has stood up against judgment or intolerance, and for anyone who wants to understand what's at stake. -- Sherri Groveman Morris, Founder, AIS Support Group USAXOXY makes clear how binary notions of gender and sex embedded in U.S. health care contribute to life-long harms of intersex persons. This candid personal narrative shows us an intersex woman who refuses to be erased and chronicles the flourishing of an intersex movement that she helped build. An important and engaging read. -- Charlene Galarneau, Associate Professor Emerita, Women's and Gender Studies, Wellesley College; and, Senior Lecturer, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School - Center for BioethicsZieselman's riveting account of secrets and their consequences should motivate physicians to end the damaging, nonconsensual approach to intersex management of children, and inspire many who have endured similar medical trauma. Her turn to activism for intersex people everywhere as director of interACT is nothing short of remarkable. -- Elizabeth Reis, Ph.D., professor of gender and bioethics at the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, and the author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex.An intimate, searing memoir of an intersex life, XOXY lays bare the trauma of being betrayed by the medical profession, and details how one person finds empowerment through community and advocacy. -- I.W. Gregorio, urologist and author of the Lambda Literary Finalist None of the Above.In XOXY Kimberly Zieselman details the shame, secrecy and lies she's faced as an intersex person since her childhood. Her perseverance and strength in the face of an ignorant medical establishment makes for an astonishing story that you won't be able to put down. Kimberly has been advocating for intersex children 2014 as the director of InterACT, an organization focused on ending harmful medical interventions on intersex children, and she played an essential role in helping me tell my own story to the world, for which I will be forever grateful. This book will help readers understand intersex, and the need to protect the bodily autonomy of all intersex individuals. -- Hanne Gaby Odiele, Internationally Renown Model and Intersex ActivistEarly in XOXY, Zieselman writes, "I felt a rush of anxiety, but there was a simultaneous emptiness that was settling into me." That poetic tension is threaded subtly throughout the book. Zieselman tells her own story mellifluously, but with a sense of palpable unease. After all, the narrative arch is of a woman in her forties learning how she was lied to most of her life, and then learning how that lie was part of a spectacular web of medical misinformation and ill-treatment.If you know the story of how most intersex people have been systemically abused by modern medicine, this will be a read laced with foreshadowing for you. If you don't, some of the most eerily familiar and quotidian passages will expose you to an important, often misunderstood narrative about what it means to be different in this world. There are vignettes about the typical childhood discoveries-the anticipation of getting a period, being studied by classmates at a new school as if an exotic artifact, doing drugs and shoplifting. Zieselman is brutally honest about the vulnerabilities of adulthood, too-from imposter's syndrome at work to anxieties over the chaos of parenting kids with disabilities. These stories all take on a new, textured meaning when the truth is revealed. And then there are plot twists that seem ripped from a science fiction film-Kafkaesque half-truths from your parents, a doctor telling a 16-year-old her vagina is too small for her future husband to be sexually satisfied, and that nagging feeling that, even as you get older and wiser, what seems to be everyone else's reality isn't quite the same for you. Even in these moments, Zieselman delivers her story of trauma with alacrity. At one point, the teenage author-narrator is told there's only one other person in the world like her-a mysterious woman in Canada. She becomes a minor character for the rest of the book-at once desperate and comedic. And in joining Zieselman on her journey in XOXY, you get to take one of your own, and meet the intersex community. A community formed around trauma, strengthened by validation, and liberated by too-often still-elusive truth and justice. This book is part not only of an individual's life, but of a movement. It's a movement demanding the simplest of things-truth, autonomy, dignity.You'd be forgiven for assuming the memoir of a white straight cisgender woman in Massachusetts wouldn't be a story of profound self-discovery in a marginalized community; you'd also be wrong. Therein lies the power of XOXY-in a raw narrative, Zieselman delicately guides you through her own journey as an intersex woman, a mother and a lawyer, and perhaps a not-so-unlikely activist. -- Kyle Knight, Senior Researcher, Human Rights WatchXOXY is a remarkable testimonial to the power of truth and connection to alchemize shame into empowerment. Overcoming the trauma of discovering in adulthood that surgeons lied to her when she was a teenager and removed her gonads without her knowledge or permission, Kimberly Zieselman refused to remain an invisible member of a "silent majority" long assumed by doctors to be satisfied with their treatment. This is the story of how she transformed herself into a fierce international advocate who champions the human rights of intersex children everywhere to discover for themselves who they want to be. -- Arlene B. Baratz, MD, Parent of two intersex children, Coordinator of Medical and Research Affairs: AIS-DSD Support Group, Chair of Medical and Research Policy Committee: interACT- Advocates for Intersex YouthTable of ContentsPart 1: Growing Pains. 1. Christopher; 2. Synchronicity; 3. Disorderly Conduct; Part 2: The New World. 4. Setting a Course; 5. Imposter in the Mirror; 6. Layers of Secrets; 7. Red Threads; Part 3: Becoming. 8. Family Together, Family Apart; 9. Me, an Activist?; 10. No Longer Silent; 11. Advocating Out Loud; 12. Resolving to Change; 13. Intersex Buzz; 14. Circling Back, Moving Forward; Part 4: Fulfillment. 15. So Queer; 16. Do No Harm ; 17. A Global Movement; 18. Intersex en Vogue; 19. The Right to Truth; 20. Until Every Day is Intersex Awareness Day; 21. Fierce Parents, Fierce Allies; 22. Defenderd Assemble; 23. Shanghai Closure; 24. War Hero

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Book Synopsis'I am the Guv'nor's daughter - but what does that mean?'Lenny McLean, better known as The Guv'nor, was a legendary and sometimes terrifying figure: a bare-knuckle fighter, bouncer and, in later life, an actor. He was a formidable force in the East End and across London, but behind his towering demeanour was a loving father who provided a safe haven for his children. For his only daughter, Kelly, his status brought with it a reputation both to live up to, and sometimes escape.Kelly experienced the old East End way of life, often lived just outside the law, first-hand and equally the uncertainty that came with her father's mood swings and the 'black dog' that followed him around, despite their close bond. The connection between father and daughter became even more apparent as Kelly began to battle her own mental health issues that, as a mum to two young children, would threaten to destroy her life.In this incredibly frank and poignant memoir, Kelly McLean provides a unique insight into life growing up as the daughter of one of the last old-school fighters, featuring many previously untold stories. This is the story of East End life from a woman who has seen it, lived it, and sometimes been plagued by it.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDS‘Jess Phillips writes like she talks: brilliantly. Her humour and passion shine through every page. Loved it.’ ROBERT WEBB_____________________If you’re thinking, ‘Jess who?’ then I’m glad that there was something about ‘Everywoman’ and ‘truth’ that caught your eye.Or you might already know me as that gobby MP who has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about. Because I’m a woman with a cause, I have been called a feminazi witch, a murderer and threatened with rape. The internet attracts a classy crowd. So, speaking the truth isn’t always easy but I believe it’s worth it. And I want you to believe it too. The truth can be empowering, the truth can lead to greater equality, and the world would be incredibly boring if we let all of those people who allegedly know everything, say everything. By demanding to be heard, by dealing with our imposter syndrome, by being cheerleaders, doers not sayers, creating our own networks and by daring to believe that we can make a difference, we can. We’re women and we’re kick-ass. And that’s the truth._____________________'Joyfully candid and very funny.' Guardian'Jess Phillips knows the truth . . . and here she shows how scary and sad as well as joyful and liberating the answers can be.' Damian Barr'Everywoman has all the laughs [of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran] with a backbone of real glinting anger . . .there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible.' Julie Birchill, Spectator'As fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed.' Metro'Arresting.' Observer_____________________This title now has a new cover and there is a chance that you may receive the edition with the old cover instead of the cover displayed here.Trade ReviewJoyfully candid and very funny. * Guardian *Lord knows we need more MPs like Jess Phillips . . . as fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed in this refreshingly bracing memoir. * Metro *Jess Phillips writes like she talks: brilliantly. Her humour and passion shine through every page. Loved it. -- Robert WebbThis book really is like reading a transcript of your cleverest, funniest friends talking about what’s getting their goat, at that point where the prosecco has made them sparkly and before it makes them silly. Not to denigrate the talent of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran but Everywoman has all the laughs theirs have with a backbone of real glinting anger, which has not had to manicure and mutate itself in order to maintain a cool media career . . . I have had to review loads of books which I couldn’t stand. This was the first which I dreaded going back to because there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible. -- Julie Burchill * Spectator *a narrative that is by turns witty and furious -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian BEST POLITICAL BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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Book SynopsisIn 1979, Liz Pryor, a good girl from a privileged Chicago family, discovered that she was pregnant. At only 17 years old, her parents were determined to keep this shameful event secret from everyone, even her siblings. One snowy January day, after driving across three states, her mother dropped her off at what Liz believed was a Catholic home for unwed mothers, but was in fact a locked state facility for delinquent pregnant girls. Over the next six months, alone and isolated from everyone she knew, Liz developed a surprising bond of friendship with the other girls, which led her to question everything she once held true. Told with tenderness, humour and candour, Look at You Now is a deeply moving coming-of-age story that pays tribute to the triumph of the human spirit in times of adversity, and the transcendent power of friendship in the toughest of times.Trade ReviewA funny, tender and brave coming-of-age tale. * People *A poignant, often funny reminder that we learn who we are when we're at our most challenged. * Good Housekeeping *A subtle, graceful story about how sometimes the worst things in our lives work best to shape our characters into something shining and true, something that will serve us for the rest of our lives... I will never forget this book. I really, really loved it. * Elizabeth Berg, author of THE DREAM LOVER *[Pryor's] honesty about a youthful error and desire to let that honesty define the rest of her life are both uplifting and inspiring. An unsentimental yet moving coming-of-age memoir. * Kirkus *Poignant ... Engrossing ... Readers will swiftly be drawn into the author's compassionate retelling of her teen pregnancy. This coming-of-age memoir is authentic and unforgettable. * Publisher’s Weekly *I devoured this in one sitting. Look At You Now is a compelling memoir about giving birth to a baby Liz is told she cannot keep. It is also a tender and finely executed meditation on daughterhood and forgiveness. * Julia Forster, author of WHAT A WAY TO GO *Pryor's refusal to bury the truth of her experiences is the greatest strength of her book. Her honesty about a youthful error and desire to let that honesty define the rest of her life are both uplifting and inspiring. An unsentimental yet moving coming-of-age memoir. * Kirkus Reviews *Pryor has vivid memories of her time in the facility, and her straightforward, unvarnished narrative, written as if by her seventeen-year-old self, rings true. Her story is well worth sharing. * Booklist *[This] memoir is heart-breaking. Narrowly focused on the five months Pryor spent in the government facility, it's a window into the mind of a child who feels utterly abandoned by her parents and, even more tragically, as though she deserves to have been. * Chicago Tribune *Liz Pryor's story is shocking, moving, riveting, and, ultimately, inspiring. She writes like a natural, can balance humor and sorrow perfectly, and in Look at You Now, has written a pitch-perfect memoir. * Darin Strauss, author of HALF A LIFE *

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Book SynopsisNew Statesman's Best Books of the Year, 2018Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year, 2018When life threw journalist Christina Patterson an involuntary-redundancy shaped curveball she decided to tear up the rulebook. Dreaming of revenge and irritated by self-help books, she set out to interview others who had found themselves picking up their own pieces. The result is a joyous, moving and honest celebration of life as an adventure, one where you ditch your expectations, raise a glass and prepare for a rocky ride.Trade ReviewOne of the best columnists around. * Andrew Motion *A clear and important voice in British journalism. * Carol Ann Duffy *A wonderful, gutsy writer. * Clive James *A tender, beautiful exploration of how we survive pressure, from a tender, beautiful writer. * Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections and Chasing The Scream (a NYT bestseller) *Brilliant, poignant and also very funny. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller *A page turner! Insightful, sad, funny and so well written. * Kirsty Wark *I thoroughly enjoyed it - a kind of war reporter's dispatches from the barricades of modern life. * Robert Harris *Tender and funny. * Sunday Post *Poignant and very funny -- Sunday ExpressPatterson invests her case histories with such intelligent passion and cracking candour that you feel as if you are listening to your cleverest, funniest, and, above all, kindest friend. This is a manual on how to survive in the 21st century. * Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday *[Patterson] puts her marvellous empathetic talent to good use, interviewing other people whose worlds had collapsed. The Art of Not Falling Apart is the result, a surprisingly joyful book by a writer so good that the people who sacked her were clearly morons. * Allison Pearson, Sunday Telegraph *Christina Patterson is a passionate, funny woman who refuses simply to struggle on. She believes in living. And throwing parties. And friendship. And sex. And buying a flat in a Tuscan watchtower from the internet on a whim. And also the power of anger. Like all good journalists, Patterson leaves her best story until last... the final chapter is a revelation. * Jackie Annesley, Sunday Times *Funny and uplifiting. * Mail on Sunday, 100 Sizzling Summer Reads *In this incredibly inspirational book, she reflects on the lessons she has learned since being made redundant, and highlights ways to deal with personal challenges, that range from domestic abuse and having a severely disabled child, to being publicly sacked at your employer's AGM. This is not a typical 'how to' guide that promises all the answers - readers may find some along the way, but they may also simply enjoy it as a witty and beautifully written memoir. * Verena Vogt, Irish News *The whole book was such a gripping read... The honesty is refreshing. It is also beautifully written... Everyone who works in healthcare would benefit from reading this book. * Peter Carter, Nursing Times *[Christina's] moving and funny book, The Art of Not Falling Apart describes with searing honesty what it's like for a single woman in middle age to lose the one thing that was holding life together - her job. * New Statesman's best books of the year 2018 *The Art of Not Falling Apart is required reading for all journalists past and present, and anyone else who has - at times - struggled to hold it together. * Dominic Ponsford, Editor in Chief, Press Gazette *

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Book SynopsisA raw and heart-wrenching literary memoir about a queer couple's attempt to adopt a child.But would you take a ginger child? a social worker asks Patrick Flanery as he and his husband embark on their four-year odyssey of trying to adopt. This curious question comes to haunt the journey, which Flanery recounts with startling candour as he explores what it means to make a family as a queer couple, to be an outsider in a foreign country, to grapple with the inheritance of intergenerational loss, and to discover that the emotions we feel are sometimes as mysterious to ourselves as to others.This uniquely powerful book moves deftly between heartbreaking memoir and illuminating meditation on parenting, adoption and queerness in contemporary culture, stopping along the way to consider recent science fiction film, camp horror television, fiction and visual art. At the end, which could also be the beginning of a new journey, Flanery asks whether we might all imagine ourselves as ginger children-fragile, sensitive, more easily hurt than we think possible, but with the hope that we are also survivors, with greater powers of resilience than we know.Trade ReviewA compelling, heart-wrenching memoir that exquisitely describes a visceral pain all too many of us feel. * The Spectator *The Ginger Child is completely fascinating. I don't think I've ever read such a self-lacerating book about how an ostensibly straightforward desire - to have kids - is policed and politicized, and how operating outside the norm throws one up against one's own shortcomings. It is shocking, and consoling, in its honesty. A book that will certainly change the landscape of adoption literature but more broadly should be read by everyone who has - or has ever wanted - kids. -- Emma BrockesThe Ginger Child is a real eye-opener; reading it you wonder how anyone manages to persevere in the adoption process at all. Patrick Flanery details the extraordinary journey of one queer couple trying to adopt in contemporary Britain and the often absurd challenges they face along the way. The book, whilst sometimes harrowing, even jaw-dropping, since you share Patrick and Andrew's journey alongside them, is also beautiful in its quiet indignation and lucid honesty. Exquisitely written - it pulls off quite a feat in that it is as compelling as it is lyrical - this is a book to be savoured by everyone interested in the shaping of family, in loss, in the joy of discovery, in love - meaning that this is a must-read for everyone. -- Jackie KayA rare, brilliant and essential exploration of adoption in queer families, and one of the most significant additions to the canon of queer literature in years. -- John D'AgataFlanery is a master of puzzling, alarming and even terrifying storytelling. * A.S Byatt, Guardian *Patrick Flanery is an exceptionally gifted novelist. * Philip Gourevitch, New Yorker *

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