{"product_id":"the-boy-on-the-sheda-remarkable-sporting-memoir-with-a-foreword-by-alan-shearer-9781473666740","title":"The Boy on the ShedA remarkable sporting memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year* \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*The Times Sports Book of the Year* \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Telegraph  Football Book of the Year*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReaders love \u003ci\u003eThe Boy on the Shed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A journey full of emotion . . . Spectacular'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003cbr\u003e''Honest, insightful and shows how football really has to sort itself out'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003cbr\u003e''Paul Ferris writes from the heart, a wonderful book'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003cbr\u003e''Exceptional'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Ferris''s wonderful memoir represents a twin triumph. He has endured every kind of setback in life but has invariably reinvented himself; and his writing is a pure pleasure.'' \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Enough depth and humanity to make your average football autobiography\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis will be one of the \u003cb\u003emost talked about football books of 2018.\u003c\/b\u003e * Henry Winter *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003eremarkable piece of writing\u003c\/b\u003e...Life, death, love, leaving home, motherly relationships, striving, all weaved into the football journey and every page I found myself relating to his experiences, some very personal...\u003cb\u003eSo much more than a sporting memoir.\u003c\/b\u003e You could take so much from it without an interest in football. * Simon Bird, Football Correspondent, Daily Mirror *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eexcellent\u003c\/b\u003e read. * Alan Shearer *\u003cbr\u003ePaul Ferris has \u003cb\u003ea good story to tell\u003c\/b\u003e, in fact several, Irish and Geordie, politics and football, \u003cb\u003eand he tells it well\u003c\/b\u003e, avoiding the obvious pitfalls of trying to be either lyrical or philosophical or too clever. * Hunter Davies *\u003cbr\u003eIt is also \u003cb\u003enot a run-of-the-mill book about football, but a well-rounded, exceedingly candid account of his life \u003c\/b\u003eon and off the pitch and of his family, warts and all. * Belfast Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnique, interesting, extremely emotive\u003c\/b\u003e and gives some insight that supporters have never heard before...His story is raw and will keep you engaged without using any exaggerations which try to win over readers...Ferris has pushed himself forward extremely well in his new book, so well that any Newcastle supporter's book collection will be incomplete without \u003ci\u003eThe Boy on the Shed\u003c\/i\u003e in it. * Newcastle Chronicle *\u003cbr\u003ePaul Ferris has written a book that \u003cb\u003etranscends genres\u003c\/b\u003e...Ferris writes with the sort of fluency that, on the pitch, once impressed peers such as Paul Gascoigne.Ferris has \u003cb\u003egone beyond standard sports autobiographies\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Boy On The Shed\u003c\/i\u003e is of a time and place, of Ireland, of Northern Ireland, of growing up a Catholic on a Protestant estate in Lisburn in the 1970s. It is a story of everyday sectarianism and its effects...These books offer a window on another world. Paul Ferris spent much of his childhood in Lisburn looking through one. \u003cb\u003eWhat he saw, how he understood it and didn't understand it, is gripping.\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eOnce opened, you will be \u003cb\u003eunable to put it down\u003c\/b\u003e. * Chronicle Live *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSuperb\u003c\/b\u003e * Oliver Holt *\u003cbr\u003eWhat a life, what a book...it is \u003cb\u003eexcellent\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eSports book of the year.\u003c\/b\u003e * BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003estirring testament to the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003estrength of the human \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003econdition\u003c\/b\u003e and the power of ideas. * Sunday Times Northern Ireland *\u003cbr\u003eAn\u003cb\u003e early contender for sports book of the year\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boy On The Shed\u003c\/i\u003e is not only \u003cb\u003ea great story \u003c\/b\u003eof a man who came tantalisingly close to making it as a top-flight footballer (and went on to achieve so much else besides), but is simultaneously \u003cb\u003eengaging\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ewell-paced \u003c\/b\u003eand, like the very best stories, \u003cb\u003ewell written\u003c\/b\u003e. * Press Association *\u003cbr\u003ePaul Ferris's \u003cb\u003ecompelling memoir \u003c\/b\u003eis different. For starters, he \u003cb\u003ewrote it all himself, beautifully\u003c\/b\u003e. Also, it \u003cb\u003eextends well beyond football\u003c\/b\u003e...It has been \u003cb\u003equite a journey\u003c\/b\u003e from the garden shed he used to climb, back in Lisburn, that gives this \u003cb\u003eengaging book\u003c\/b\u003e its title - and one which thoroughly confounds the notion of the idiot footballer. * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe appeal of his astute story-telling is that \u003cb\u003ethis book works on levels that reach far beyond football\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Boy on the Shed \u003c\/i\u003ereveals an \u003cb\u003eimpressive triumph of human resilience over adversity\u003c\/b\u003e as well as a \u003cb\u003etruly gifted wordsmith\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e * Sunday Mirror *\u003cbr\u003eQuite simply \u003cb\u003eone of the best football memoirs I've ever read\u003c\/b\u003e and I've worked my way through rather a lot. Paul Ferris \u003cb\u003ewrites beautifully \u003c\/b\u003eand weaves \u003cb\u003ea fascinating tale\u003c\/b\u003e that lures you into not wanting to put this wonderful book down. \u003cb\u003eA masterpiece of the genre.\u003c\/b\u003e * Brian McNally *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFootball memoirs rarely produce great literature but Ferris's \u003ci\u003eThe Boy on the Shed\u003c\/i\u003e is a glistening exception\u003c\/b\u003e, which sets a short career with Newcastle United against the backdrop of a Catholic childhood in a protestant stronghold of Northern Ireland. He's \u003cb\u003ewitty, emotional and painfully self-revealing\u003c\/b\u003e. If, as Alan Shearer intimates in the foreword, a second book is on the way, he may turn out to be the new Frank McCourt. * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eFerris \u003cb\u003ewrites so well\u003c\/b\u003e about the sensation of playing that those who have never kicked a ball are given a glimpse of how to be a footballer. This is \u003cb\u003eso much more than a memoir about the game\u003c\/b\u003e, however. This is \u003cb\u003erare male honesty\u003c\/b\u003e about crippling shyness, love and despair and \u003cb\u003eso very moving\u003c\/b\u003e about the relationship between a mother and her son. * Alyson Rudd, The Times *\u003cbr\u003eIf by any chance you like a good book and you are not averse to sport, even football, \u003cb\u003etake this recommendation\u003c\/b\u003e. It is called \u003ci\u003eThe Boy on the Shed\u003c\/i\u003e and it was written by Paul Ferris. Ferris's story is \u003cb\u003efascinating and stylishly told\u003c\/b\u003e. -- David Walsh * The Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eIn a genre too often mired in platitudes, former Newcastle and Northern Ireland winger Ferris's account of growing up Catholic in Protestant Lisburn - and the football career that  promised him a way out - \u003cb\u003estands out for its honesty and humour\u003c\/b\u003e. * i Paper *\u003cbr\u003eA\u003cb\u003e fascinating life story, bearing much heart and soul \u003c\/b\u003eas well as being 'warts and all'. It is well worth reading for its honesty and its insights by any reader and will be a particularly absorbing read for anyone with an interest or love for 'the beautiful game' as well as Ulster readers and those who remember the would-be local football star from these shores. * Irish Tatler *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a \u003cb\u003efascinating life story\u003c\/b\u003e, bearing much \u003cb\u003eheart and soul\u003c\/b\u003e as well as being warts and all'. It is well worth reading for its \u003cb\u003ehonesty and its insights\u003c\/b\u003e by any reader and will be a\u003cb\u003e particularly absorbing read\u003c\/b\u003e for anyone with an interest or love for 'the beautiful game'. * Ulster Tatler *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA roller coaster read\u003c\/b\u003e with appeal beyond football fans, this is a \u003cb\u003etale of struggle and tragedy, of love and hope,\u003c\/b\u003e and offers humbling reality as an alternative to the traditional \"rags to riches\" adventure. * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003eIn literary terms, his autobiography is \u003cb\u003efar and away the best book here\u003c\/b\u003e.  Not for nothing was it shortlisted for the William Hill sports book of the year award. As with Nick Hornby's peerless classic it \u003cb\u003ewill endure\u003c\/b\u003e beyond a convenient Christmas stocking filler for your dad.  That's because it's not about sport, but rather about the far bigger themes of \u003cb\u003efamily, pain, identity, masculinity and loss\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Robert Crampton * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe Boy on the Shed has \u003cb\u003eenough depth and humanity\u003c\/b\u003e to make your average football autobiography look like a Ladybird book. * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eFerris's \u003cb\u003ewonderful memoir\u003c\/b\u003e represents a twin triumph ... and his writing is a \u003cb\u003epure pleasure\u003c\/b\u003e. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eFerris's book offers new insights into professional sport - and what happens when the dream curdles. * Irish Independent *","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48739535126871,"sku":"9781473666740","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781473666740.jpg?v=1720052524","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-boy-on-the-sheda-remarkable-sporting-memoir-with-a-foreword-by-alan-shearer-9781473666740","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}