Both an emotionally raw account of living on the breadline and a heartfelt tribute to the empowering qualities of literature, King's moving and courageous memoir chronicles her inspiring escape from poverty on a Birmingham council estate.
When you have nothing, you cling to whatever gives you hope. Put yourself in Tracy King's shoes. Growing up in an ordinary council estate outside Birmingham; a house filled with creativity, curiosity and love, but marked by her father's alcoholism and her mother's agoraphobia.
By the time she turns twelve her father has been killed, her sister taken into care and her mother ensnared by the promises of born-again Christianity. This isn't the stuff of cult documentaries; this is the story of an ordinary family trapped in a broken system. It's a story that could happen to anyone without the tools to transform their circumstances. And it's the story of how Tracy found her way out.
A shocking, inspiring and ultimately hopeful memoir that holds up a mirror to the everyday realities of living in poverty, it is also a testament to the power of books and to learning to question our world.
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9780857527431
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 439 g
Dimensions: 223 x 145 x 30 mm
An astonishing account of a father’s violent death, exorcism and religious superstition….Learning to Think is, in many ways, a book about demons: the addiction, violence, mental health struggles and, yes, superstition, that so often accompany poverty. But it’s also the story of an extraordinary family, full of energy and joie de vivre. It’s a story that brims with life and hard-won hope… Well structured and punchily told. - Christina Patterson, Sunday Times
A memoir you read with the same breathlessness as you read the most gripping of novels ... An account of a family both torn apart and trapped by a broken system. A story of poverty and hardship, religion and superstition, but also an incredibly hopeful tale of how King got out of it. - i paper
An earth-shattering, hopeful memoir. - Woman’s Own
Reflective and compassionate, King gently reminds of the complex ways poverty wreaks havoc on people's lives. - Woman & Home
A powerful depiction of a challenged but enterprising, intelligent and resilient family. - Times Literary Supplement
King's memoir is heartbreaking and hopeful; a devastating true story that teaches us how the pursuit of knowledge can be a path to both freedom and breathtaking grace. - Tim Minchin
A raw and unflinching account of growing up in poverty which tackles the false narratives we tell ourselves to survive. - Caroline Criado Perez
A brilliant writer - Adam Kay
What would you do if you began to suspect the events of your childhood didn't happen as you remembered them? In this evocative memoir, Tracy King confronts the stories we all tell ourselves in order to live. - Helen Lewis, author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights
You won’t often read a book so driven by raw emotion. A book of tragedy, hope and ultimately of triumph. - HH Wendy Joseph KC, author of Unlawful Killings
This is a remarkable and intense memoir written by Tracy King. I’m finding it very difficult to summarise as the book touches on so much. It is essentially about King’s life growing up on a council estate not far from... More
This is an intensely personal memoir about Tracy's life mostly relating to when she was younger, mostly in her teens. It is remarkable for its openness and, under the circumstances its balance. There is a... More
I didn't know much about this book when I started reading it but I am so glad that I did! As a therapist I found it very thought provoking. I am very aware of how our memories can be distorted and the way... More
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