With an introduction by Eimear Mc Bride A devastatingly powerful moving & uplifting memoir
- now a classic of its genre
- that inspired others to tell their own true life stories When our stepfather staggered home reeking of whisky ceramic hit the wall We got used to the smash & the next-day stain but eventually the wallpaper began to fade For Andrea Ashworth home is not a place of comfort & solace but of violence & fear Her father died when she was five leaving her close-knit loving family to battle with poverty abuse & the long shadow of depression But from the ashes of 1970s Manchester & the hardships of her coming-of-age in the late 1980s Andrea finds the courage to rise Written with eye-opening honesty rare beauty & intense power Once in a House on Fire is a ground-breaking memoir endearing in its humour & compassion & life-affirming in its portrait of terrible circumstances triumphantly overcome