Description

Book Synopsis

A Sunday Times Book of the Year

''Riveting, clear-sighted and exceptionally articulate... Her literary and psychoanalytic fluency gives the book an impact that feels arrestingly honest... Heartbreaking'' Daily Telegraph

''An unsparing account of a family destroyed by drugs. Unique and haunting'' Sunday Times

''What gives this book its astonishing power is not the guilt, but the intelligence and literary skill'' Guardian

''I write, knowing that writing at all may be seen as a betrayal of family; a shaming, exploitative act. Anyone reading this who thinks so, please know that I thought it before you''

For years Sigrid Rausing watched helplessly as her brother Hans and his wife Eva succumbed to drug addiction. It afflicted a terrible toll on their family, culminating in Eva''s tragic early death. As this death led to inquest and media circus, the world looked on in horror, b

Trade Review

Fierce, lyrical, and lucid memoir

-- Siri Hustvedt
A profoundly articulate and harrowing memoir of a family grappling with addiction... I was impressed and moved -- A. M. Homes
A short, intense and moving memoir... a poignant and at times harrowing account that testifies to the resilience of the human spirit * Tatler *
Powerful and spare... her elisions and prevarications have a striking effect * The Observer *
Such a unique and haunting story to tell * The Sunday Times *
What gives this book its astonishing power is not the guilt, but the intelligence and literary skill. Beautifully structured... Rausing sets the scene with painterly delicacy and then steps back to analyse the implications of what she has revealed * The Guardian *
A deeply felt memorial to a lost brother...a finely written memoir * Literary Review *
Riveting, clear-sighted and exceptionally articulate...heartbreaking...her literary and psychoanalytic fluency gives the book an impact that feels arrestingly honest * Daily Telegraph *
Touched by its bravery, sincerity and the frequent beauty of the writing * The Times *
In this slim, stoic memoir... Rausing thoughtfully, painstakingly, works a deep groove into the stubborn surface of certain bedevilling questions: "How do you write about addiction?"... I nodded and sometimes cried. I wanted to invite the author over for tea * The Millions *
Publisher's description. A courageous and clear-sighted memoir about addiction and its terrible repercussions within a family. In 2012, Hans Rausing, heir to the vast Tetrapak fortune, was pulled over by the police while driving erratically across Wandsworth Bridge. What those police officers eventually found would shock the world... * Penguin *

Mayhem A Memoir

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Fri 19 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Sigrid Rausing

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      Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
      Publication Date: 26/07/2018
      ISBN13: 9780241977064, 978-0241977064
      ISBN10: 0241977061

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      A Sunday Times Book of the Year

      ''Riveting, clear-sighted and exceptionally articulate... Her literary and psychoanalytic fluency gives the book an impact that feels arrestingly honest... Heartbreaking'' Daily Telegraph

      ''An unsparing account of a family destroyed by drugs. Unique and haunting'' Sunday Times

      ''What gives this book its astonishing power is not the guilt, but the intelligence and literary skill'' Guardian

      ''I write, knowing that writing at all may be seen as a betrayal of family; a shaming, exploitative act. Anyone reading this who thinks so, please know that I thought it before you''

      For years Sigrid Rausing watched helplessly as her brother Hans and his wife Eva succumbed to drug addiction. It afflicted a terrible toll on their family, culminating in Eva''s tragic early death. As this death led to inquest and media circus, the world looked on in horror, b

      Trade Review

      Fierce, lyrical, and lucid memoir

      -- Siri Hustvedt
      A profoundly articulate and harrowing memoir of a family grappling with addiction... I was impressed and moved -- A. M. Homes
      A short, intense and moving memoir... a poignant and at times harrowing account that testifies to the resilience of the human spirit * Tatler *
      Powerful and spare... her elisions and prevarications have a striking effect * The Observer *
      Such a unique and haunting story to tell * The Sunday Times *
      What gives this book its astonishing power is not the guilt, but the intelligence and literary skill. Beautifully structured... Rausing sets the scene with painterly delicacy and then steps back to analyse the implications of what she has revealed * The Guardian *
      A deeply felt memorial to a lost brother...a finely written memoir * Literary Review *
      Riveting, clear-sighted and exceptionally articulate...heartbreaking...her literary and psychoanalytic fluency gives the book an impact that feels arrestingly honest * Daily Telegraph *
      Touched by its bravery, sincerity and the frequent beauty of the writing * The Times *
      In this slim, stoic memoir... Rausing thoughtfully, painstakingly, works a deep groove into the stubborn surface of certain bedevilling questions: "How do you write about addiction?"... I nodded and sometimes cried. I wanted to invite the author over for tea * The Millions *
      Publisher's description. A courageous and clear-sighted memoir about addiction and its terrible repercussions within a family. In 2012, Hans Rausing, heir to the vast Tetrapak fortune, was pulled over by the police while driving erratically across Wandsworth Bridge. What those police officers eventually found would shock the world... * Penguin *

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