{"product_id":"where-you-end-and-i-begin-a-memoir-9781529373691","title":"Where You End and I Begin: A Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen eight-year-old Leah's parents get divorced, her mother, Cessie, flees her conventional life as a suburban housewife in search of a glamorous big city career in journalism. In the chaotic years that follow Cessie lurches from one apartment, job and toxic romance to the next, with her adoring daughter in tow. Cessie describes her parenting style as 'benign neglect' and their family motto 'Commitment sucks the life right out of you' is tacked up on every rental fridge. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the aftermath of a disturbing sexual experience at a pool party, Leah finds herself crippled with anxiety. When she confides in her mother, Cessie makes an astonishing disclosure in turn, one that alters everything: from the age of twelve to fifteen she was in a clandestine relationship with her middle-aged, married riding instructor. The damage inflicted by the 'Horseman', Cessie explains, is the reason for all her regrettable life choices - marriage, divorce and even motherhood itself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth women spend the ensuing decades haunted by the spectre of the Horseman, until they decide to investigate what became of him - an ill-conceived quest that will test the bonds of love and redefine their relationship forever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten with unflinching candour and wit, \u003ci\u003eWhere You End and I\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBegin \u003c\/i\u003eexplores the dark reverberations of victim narratives and the power of filial love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA work of probing insight and undaunted compassion; one that's fearlessly engrossing, frequently funny and sometimes plain hair-raising\u003c\/b\u003e -- Hephzibah Anderson * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eIt's hard not to find yourself      rooting for both parties in this \u003cb\u003euntamed, yearning story of imperfect      mother-daughter love\u003c\/b\u003e * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRaw and beautiful-I was riveted all the way through.\u003c\/b\u003e -- ANNIE MACMANUS, author of Mother Mother\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf Edward St. Aubyn were to write an episode of \u003ci\u003eEuphoria\u003c\/i\u003e, it might come close to Leah McLaren's astonishing memoir\u003c\/b\u003e. Ecstatically wild and weirdly fun, this book has me praying that it is the first installment of a series--and that I'll be seeing more of this latchkey kid and her mother, both of whom are brilliantly flawed, and make cardboard cutouts out of the rest of us. McLaren has written \u003cb\u003ea poignant and brave modern gothic\u003c\/b\u003e. I am blown away, madly in love. -- LAUREN MECHLING, author of How Could She\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhere You End and I Begin\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea burningly true and gorgeously written memoir\u003c\/b\u003e of a complex mother and daughter relationship. At its heart, \u003cb\u003ethis is a freshly told story by a great writer about an under-parented generation\u003c\/b\u003e, where children were free to realize themselves, but also perhaps to become lost in the process. You're in good hands with Leah as she guides you through the pain and joy of her unfettered childhood. -- CATHRIN BRADBURY, author of The Bright Side\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMordant, clear-eyed, loving, devastating\u003c\/b\u003e. Richly evocative, propulsive, and so well written-her prose sparkles like sunshine over deep water. -- AIDA EDEMARIAM, author of The Wife’s Tale","brand":"John Murray Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48885997896023,"sku":"9781529373691","price":12.74,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781529373691.jpg?v=1722538451","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/where-you-end-and-i-begin-a-memoir-9781529373691","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}