{"product_id":"sufferah-the-memoir-of-a-brixton-reggae-head-9781636140933","title":"Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head","description":"\u003cp\u003e--Selected for the In the Margins Book Awards 2024 Top Ten Title List and 2024 Nonfiction Recommendation List \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In this inspiring, often harrowing narrative, the author chronicles how, shortly after he turned 3, he was abandoned by his parents and placed in the care of the government. That led to a childhood of physical and sexual abuse on top of the racism and police brutality he experienced growing up in Brixton, England, in the 1970s and '80s . . . As dark as his early memories are, Wheatle describes his reggae memories with glimmers of hope and appreciation . . . A striking tribute to reggae's ability to protect a fragile soul when seemingly everything else had failed him.\" \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e--Kirkus Reviews, \u003c\/em\u003e Starred Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbandoned as a baby to the British foster care system, Alex Wheatle grew up without any knowledge of his Jamaican parentage or family history. Preoccupied with his own roots, Alex grew inexorably drawn to reggae music, which became his primary solace through years of physical and mental abuse in a children's home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Although riven by loneliness and depression, Alex found joy and empathy among his reggae heroes: Dennis Brown, Bob Marley, Marcia Griffiths, the Mighty Diamonds, Sister Nancy, Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy, King Yellowman, and so many others. These were friends and mentors who understood the enormous challenges facing a young Black man, gave purpose to despair, provided a sense of belonging when Alex had no one, and who educated him in ways no school ever could. From the abuse he suffered in foster care, to the challenges he faced on the streets of South London as a young man and his eventual imprisonment for participating in the legendary 1981 Brixton uprising against racial injustice, reggae music always provided a lifeline to Alex.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alex's life story was portrayed in Oscar Award-winning director Steve McQueen's 2020 \u003cem\u003eSmall Axe.\u003c\/em\u003e In \u003cem\u003eSufferah\u003c\/em\u003e, he vividly tells his own story, putting the reader in his shoes through the many challenges of his younger years, answering the question: how on earth did he make it? By his example we are reminded that words can be our sustenance, and music can be our heartbeat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlex Wheatle is the author of several best-selling books including the young adult novels \u003ci\u003eKemosha of the Caribbean, Cane Warriors, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHome Girl, \u003c\/i\u003e the modern classic \u003ci\u003eBrixton Rock, \u003c\/i\u003e and the multiaward-winning Crongton series. He is the subject of the historical drama film \u003ci\u003eAlex Wheatle, \u003c\/i\u003e which is part of filmmaker Steve McQueen's critically acclaimed anthology series \u003ci\u003eSmall Axe.\u003c\/i\u003e His body of work was a finalist for the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature and has won numerous awards, including the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e Children's Fiction Pr\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Akashic Books, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50534092734738,"sku":"9781636140933","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1f1ac86a-6b96-4cca-888f-b8f0be847b69.jpg?v=1731422590","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sufferah-the-memoir-of-a-brixton-reggae-head-9781636140933","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}