THE MUST-READ MEMOIR OF 2021
The dazzling days and dark nights of a Chelsea childhood . . .
'Brilliant and moving' The Times
'Dazzling' Evening Standard
'Beautifully written' Marian Keyes
'Unflinchingly honest Sunday Times
'Superbly written' Guardian
'A triumph' i
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Her father was a hairdresser to the rich and famous - he was also their drug dealer.
Her mother was an alcoholic fashion model.
Her days and nights were non-stop parties - she spent them taking care of her little sister and putting out naked flames.
And when her sister dies aged nine, Gavanndra is left alone with her grief. Growing up in the dazzling days and dark nights of her parents' social lives, surviving means fitting into their dysfunctional world, while stopping the family from falling apart . . .
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'A redemptive tale of an emotional reckoning' i
'This story will stay with you long after you put the book down' Emma Gannon
'There are scenes that will reduce you to tears, but there's also humour, forgiveness and uplifting optimism. By the end of this dazzling debut you just want to give her a huge cheer for coming through' Evening Standard
'A masterful writer with a gift for storytelling' i
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Imprint: Penguin
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Published: 14/05/2020
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ISBN: 9781405943239
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Length: 320 Pages
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RRP: £8.99
Reviews
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Unflinchingly honestly. A beautiful book . . . everyone should read it
The Sunday Times
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There are scenes that will reduce you to tears, but there's also humour, forgiveness and uplifting optimism [...] by the end of this dazzling debut you just want to give her a huge cheer for coming through
Evening Standard
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Wise and moving . . . this memoir is an acknowledgment that love demands a price
Guardian
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By turns painful and joyful, this beautiful book has plenty of poignant lessons to teach us about grief and love
Cosmopolitan
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Gavanndra writes beautifully, her words are unsentimental but very lyrical [...] I loved this book and my tears fell into the bath as I read it
Clover Stroud, author of The Sunday Times Bestselling memoir My Wild and Sleepless Nights
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A devastating, heart-breaking and magnificent meditation on the function of memory. It will stay with me forever, so beautifully written
Daisy Buchanan, author of The Sisterhood
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A completely unforgettable and unique family memoir. A total cliché but I honestly couldn't put it down
Hadley Freeman
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A real tear-jerker
i
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'Beautifully-written, calm-but-utterly-compelling life-story of trauma and healing... the author seems lovely and I want to be her pal!'
Marian Keyes
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At a time when so many families are losing loved ones, and are denied even the scant comfort funerals provide, there is no more poignant moment for this book to appear
Emily Hill, The Spectator
