Learning to Think., 9780857527431
Hardcover
Poverty, faith, loss: One woman’s fight for knowledge and freedom.

Learning to Think.

a memoir about hardship, education, hellfire, family, finding a way to break free

$50.68

  • Hardcover

    336 pages

  • Release Date

    6 April 2024

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Summary

From Council Estate to Self-Made: A Memoir of Hope and Transformation

The most exciting memoir of the year: a stunning coming-of-age story that echoes Educated and Lowborn.

When you have nothing, you cling to whatever gives you hope…

Imagine growing up on an ordinary council estate outside Birmingham, in a home brimming with creativity, curiosity, and love, yet shadowed by a father’s alcoholism and a mother’s agoraphobia.

By twelve, your fat…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780857527431
ISBN-10:0857527436
Author:Tracy King
Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
Imprint:Doubleday
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:336
Release Date:6 April 2024
Weight:439g
Dimensions:223mm x 145mm x 30mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

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 MinchinA raw and unflinching account of growing up in poverty which tackles the false narratives we tell ourselves to survive. – Caroline Criado PerezA brilliant writer – Adam KayWhat 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 FightsYou 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

About The Author

Tracy King

Tracy King is a writer, producer and science communicator based in England. She has worked on subjects ranging from science and technology to politics and videogames, for the BBC and in the Guardian, Telegraph, New Statesman, Stylist and The New European, amongst others. She was a columnist for Custom PC magazine for over ten years. Her science and critical-thinking animations include a collaboration with Tim Minchin, Storm, which has six million views on YouTube and was adapted into a bestselling graphic novel. Her television and radio credits include Sky News, BBC Newsnight, Good Morning Britain and BBC Sounds.

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