Learning to Think.: A memoir about hardship, education, hellfire, family, finding a way to break free

The most exciting memoir to launch in 2024 - Educated meets Lowborn and more. A stunning coming-of-age story. When you have nothing, you cling to whatever gives you hope ... Put yourself in Tracy King's shoes. Growing up on an ordinary council estate outside Birmingham, in 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; It is the story of an ordinary family trapped in a broken system. One 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 of learning to think for yourself.

About the Author :
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.

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. 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. An earth-shattering, hopeful memoir. Reflective and compassionate, King gently reminds of the complex ways poverty wreaks havoc on people's lives. A powerful depiction of a challenged but enterprising, intelligent and resilient family. 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. A raw and unflinching account of growing up in poverty which tackles the false narratives we tell ourselves to survive. A brilliant writer 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. You won’t often read a book so driven by raw emotion. A book of tragedy, hope and ultimately of triumph.