Learning to Think.: make believe, injustice and searching for truth – a memoir

Paperback Published on: 22/05/2025
Price: £10.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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Learning to Think.
A Cautionary Tale?
Tracy King’s life story is an interesting one; her mum was agoraphobic, alcohol was a close companion to her dad, and her sister was a serial school refuse... READ MORE
Jen at Windsor
Learning to Think.
The power of critical thinking
Science and communications journalist Tracy King has made a living by cutting through noise towards a signal, shining a light on lazy media treatment of co... READ MORE
Richard Hayden in Rye

Synopsis

‘A memoir you read with the same breathlessness as you read the most gripping of novels’ - iNews

‘Astonishing … a story that brims with life and hard-won hope’ - Sunday Times

Fantastic. Could have been me. Could have been you. Could have been anyone’ - Lee Child

When Tracy King was twelve she was exorcised.
Unfortunately, the demons that beset Tracy could not be so easily displaced.
While her life was filled with creativity, curiosity, and love, it was also constricted by poverty, by Tracy’s father’s alcoholism and her mother’s agoraphobia.

By the time she turned twelve Tracy’s father had been killed, her sister taken into care and her mother ensnared by the promises of born-again Christianity.
This is the story of an ordinary family trapped in a broken system. It is a story that could happen to anyone without the tools to transform their circumstances.

But it is also a tale with a twist. And one full of humour and hope.
Because with courage, perseverance and self-education, Tracy learnt to think for herself and found her way out.
.....................................................................................................................................................................................

'Tracy King's memoir is heartbreaking and hopeful...An incredible true story of survival and forgiveness.' TIM MINCHIN

'Raw and unflinching.' 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

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
  • ISBN: 9781804991947
  • Number of pages: 336
  • Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 20 mm
  • Weight: 234g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Learning to Think.
A remarkable tale of an intensely personal life
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 an... READ MORE
Nigel
Learning to Think.
Thought provoking!
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... READ MORE
Brad Mace
Learning to Think.
Remarkable and intense memoir
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... READ MORE
JosieG
Learning to Think.
An honest and powerful story of determination
This is a book with an unusual opening chapter in that the author Tracy King, aged 12, is being exorcised of demons by two male members of her church. It ... READ MORE
Carole Tyrrell
Learning to Think.
Powerful memoir
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this powerful and heartbreaking memoir. Tracey deeply explains her childhood, growing up in poverty on a council esta... READ MORE
Amelia Coulson
Learning to Think.
Fascinating memoir
I'd seen a lot of hoopla about this book so thought I'd give it a go despite not having heard of Tracy King. So glad I did because what you get is an extra... READ MORE
Kateoshea
Learning to Think.
Powerful Read
I read this book courtesy of NetGalley. Quite a hard book to read at times but details Tracy King's life and her personal struggles. Tracy is a very inde... READ MORE
Grey Lady
Learning to Think.
Very powerful, interesting, and necessary
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld for an advance e-copy of this title. This is a carefully written, sharply observed, and often heartwarming book. I ag... READ MORE
Sarah
Learning to Think.
Powerfully Read
This is a very powerful true story of the King Family told by Tracy of growing up in poverty in Great Britain She details the life she leads with her si... READ MORE
Norma Zacks
Learning to Think.
Worth thinking (critically!) about
This is a book of many parts and, ultimately, the title is a good one. Whilst I think that stylistically there were some weaker areas (almost verbatim repe... READ MORE
Clarisa Butler
Learning to Think.
A remarkable memoir that brings life in the 70s and 80s to life
This is very interesting memoir of Tracy’s childhood in the 70s and 80s living in council housing in the Birmingham area. Her writing really brings to life... READ MORE
Val Robson