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 independent, intelligent young woman who had a difficult, but loving, upbringing. I feel that she possibly needed to write this book for cathartic reasons and I hope it helped as the last part seemed more of an essay exploring truth. A powerful story about poverty intertwined with anxiety, phobias and alcoholism plus a good dollop of superstition and a zealous brand of Christianity. Disturbing in it's own way.

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 repetitions, uneven exploration of key elements in the narrative...) this memoir is enlightening and compelling. Its strong didactic slant is new one to me as neither the other two books it made me think of (Janette Winterson's "Oranges are not the Only Fruit" and Andrea Ashworth's "Once in a House on Fire") have it, being far more literary if equally centred in an obviously intelligent girl. The very personal event that triggers and also illustrates the "critical thinking" "learning to think" central tenet of this life story and its exploration is a truly revealing example which encompasses deep societal and private concerns so complex that answers are imperfect by definition. "I may be wrong" is a key mantra for King and in today's culture, a salutary reminder. This is a memoir that has much to offer for discussion (in the classroom, bookclub or within oneself) from mental health, poverty, to education, serendipity... critical thinking!

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 extraordinary story of an ordinary family whose lives were changed by several events they couldn't control. The King family could have been any ordinary working class family living in England but due to Jackie (mother) having agoraphobia plus other phobias and Mike (father) having a drink problem their first traumatic event comes early on in the form of their eldest daughter, Emily, picking up on her mother's trauma and becoming a school refuser. This leads eventually to her being placed in a boarding school miles from home. The second (and even more significant) trauma came with the death of Mike following an altercation with some local youths. This led to a trial in which the family seems to have been as much on trial as the young man accused. So if I continue I'll just end up rewriting the book (only far less well). Suffice to say that these events had a profound effect on Tracy King who went on to lead a somewhat chaotic life for some years. However using the skills her family gave her Tracy has become a success story and decided to go back to find out what really happened the night her father died. The book is about so much more than that one pivotal event. The book is about love and understanding and learning to take apart long held beliefs and holding them up to scrutiny. This is a great book and I loved reading it. Tracy clearly had exceptional parents and the love within the family leaps off the pages and really made me smile. What happened to them all was tragic but unlike others who have been, for whatever reason, unable to escape the chaos Tracy King has used her experience to learn and teach others and now to bring a wonderful, often heartbreaking, book to life. Thankyou to Tracy King for this deeply personal look at her life. It must have taken courage to go looking for the truth. Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.

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 estate. They tried everything in their power to keep the family afloat whilst each going through trauma individually. This memoir really showed how little help there was towards children in need and how punishing children for their mental health struggles is the last thing that should be done. Tracey beautifully described how her thoughts matured as she grew up, but also explained why she thought those things as a young child. The book touches on so much and is a powerful testament to Tracy and the King families life. A heartbreaking life story that is powerful for everyone to read and understand how families in poverty really lived and how the UK community came together, or didn't, in times of struggles.

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 sister, Mother and Father they all have their own problems but are a very happy family with lots of laughter. Life changes when Tracy's father dies when she is 12 and the effect of his death on her. I was fortunate to come from a middle class family, both parents working and did not realise the effect of living in poverty could have.. I would like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.