{"product_id":"a-working-class-family-ages-badly-a-search-for-happiness-9780349702339","title":"A Working-Class Family Ages Badly: A Search for Happiness","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Delicate and devastating. Up there with the best of them.' HANNAH LOWE, WINNER OF THE COSTA PRIZE \u003cbr\u003e 'Roche is a charming, unflinchingly honest guide on a journey that's as funny as it is heart-breaking.' JUNO DAWSON\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow does an untrained eye recognise the process of dying, when your mind is fixed firmly on living?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radically honest and uplifting memoir about defying death and learning to live. \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJuno Roche\u003c\/b\u003e was born into a working-class family in London in the sixties, who dabbled in minor crime. For their father, \u003cb\u003eviolence and love\u003c\/b\u003e lived together; for their mother, addiction was the only way to survive. School was a respite, but shortly after beginning their university course \u003cb\u003eJuno was diagnosed with HIV, then a death sentence\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Juno is a survivor; they outlived their diagnosis, got a degree and became an artist. But however hard you try to take the kid out of the family, some scars go too deep; trying to run from AIDS and their childhood threw Juno into \u003cb\u003edark years of serious drug addiction\u003c\/b\u003e, addiction often financed by sex work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Running from home eventually took Juno \u003cb\u003eacross the sea to a tiny village in Spain\u003c\/b\u003e, surrounded by mountains. Only once they found a quiet little house with an olive tree in the garden did Juno start to wonder if they had run too far, and \u003cb\u003ewhether they have really been searching for a family all along\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In an incredibly \u003cb\u003ehonest and brave book\u003c\/b\u003e, Juno takes us through the moments of their life: Mum sending Christmas cards containing Valium, drug withdrawal on a River Nile cruise, overcoming their father's violence and finding their dream house in Spain. Showing immense resilience, Juno's memoir is \u003cb\u003ea book about what it means to stay alive\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Emotional, tragic and incredibly funny, \u003ci\u003eRoam \u003c\/i\u003eis an unforgettable must-read memoir for anyone who loves \u003ci\u003eEducated\u003c\/i\u003e, Deborah Levy and \u003ci\u003eMotherwell\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Full of \u003cb\u003eheart, wit and charm\u003c\/b\u003e. I'm \u003cb\u003eobsessed\u003c\/b\u003e with this book.' \u003cb\u003eTravis Alabanza \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e '\u003cb\u003eSo gripping\u003c\/b\u003e, I had to make myself slow down to appreciate the quality of the writing. Such a \u003cb\u003epowerful story and so beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003ePaul Burston\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Utterly unique. Nobody can write with \u003cb\u003ewarmth and confrontation\u003c\/b\u003e the way Juno can.' \u003cb\u003eTom Rasmussen\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Compassionate, dreamlike and \u003cb\u003edeeply moving\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eCN Lester\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Should be read by \u003cb\u003eeveryone\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eIrenosen Okojie \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Juno has always been a literary voice like no one else, \u003cb\u003escathingly honest and endlessly expansive\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eAmelia Abraham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJuno Roche is a writer and campaigner whose work around class, gender, sexuality and trans lives has been described as 'provocative and innovative'. They were the recipient of the Blair Peach Award in for their work in education and their work has been supported by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Juno studied Fine Art and Philosophy at Brighton, and English Literature at Sussex, and has written for a wide range of publications including features for \u003ci\u003eBitch\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, \u003ci\u003eDazed, Vice, Broadly, Cosmopolitan, \u003c\/i\u003e the\u003ci\u003e i, The Independent, i-D, \u003c\/i\u003e the\u003ci\u003e Tate\u003c\/i\u003e magazine and \u003ci\u003eRefinery29\u003c\/i\u003e. They are the author of four books: \u003ci\u003eQueer Sex, Trans Power, Gender Explorers \u003c\/i\u003eand their memoir, \u003ci\u003eA Working-Class Family Ages Badly\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dialogue","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51243586617618,"sku":"9780349702339","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cf1f5384-038c-45b5-8cf4-e7470ce65366.jpg?v=1745867214","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-working-class-family-ages-badly-a-search-for-happiness-9780349702339","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}