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‘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.
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‘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 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. — Christina Patterson * Sunday Times * 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. * i paper * An earth-shattering, hopeful memoir. * Woman’s Own * Reflective and compassionate, King gently reminds of the complex ways poverty wreaks havoc on people’s lives. * Woman & Home * A powerful depiction of a challenged but enterprising, intelligent and resilient family. * Times Literary Supplement * 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. — Tim Minchin A raw and unflinching account of growing up in poverty which tackles the false narratives we tell ourselves to survive. — 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, author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights You won’t often read a book so driven by raw emotion. A book of tragedy, hope and ultimately of triumph. — HH Wendy Joseph KC, author of Unlawful Killings