A really great collection of essays about the Windrush generation. When I read this in around 2020 time, I just wanted to recommend the collection to everyone. It really shows a lot of different experiences from a vast array of people who all had just a unique experience at the time. Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff did a great job at bringing all of the essayists together to make a really wonderful collectiion. I wish that I could get everyone to read this book to see through lense of a different perspective in the past.

Absolutely blew me away. Just an excellent read. Such fantastic think-pieces too. Really makes you think and really had me hooked. Excellent

I thought this was a great collection. As always some stories were better than others. I like to read short stories after a book hangover so a good one to keep on the shelf for that occasion.

An absolutely beautiful and heart rendering story of the Windrush generation. Thoroughly recommended as an insight into their struggle. Very well written and engaging.

All too often the Windrush Generation is condensed into a single idea (or even a single boat) and fails the acknowledge the span of the countries and years involved in the mass migration of commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom. Through this moniker, it is almost as though we are condensing history into the simplest of morsels to digest; simplified, white-washed, easily marketable. One that allows it to easily obscure the fact that it was the British Government who actively and furiously campaigned for more workers in the eve of the world wars and, once they had arrived, denigrated their culture, race, citizenship and patriotism for nigh on two generations.
Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children shows just how wrong that idea is. It is a collection that brings together stories from a range of individuals that span class, age and racial lines but it does not turn them into a growing crescendo. The idea, after-all, must have been all-too tempting but Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff manages to keep every voice separate, vivid; a story and life all to its own.

This collection brings together different stories of the Windrush generation - those who migrated from the Caribbean to Britain, their 'mother country', on the promise of a better life. Told by members of the Windrush generation, their children and their grandchildren, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff has brought together these stories and built on a strong tradition of oral history and storytelling - I think the format of the book and the telling of social history and people's lives in this way is perfect for the subject matter.

Mother Country follows the stories of people who migrated to Britain, and explores the difficulties they faced such as working multiple jobs and racism in a new country. However, it does also celebrate the richness and diversity of people's lives and how communities have worked together to help each other. This is a much needed collection and challenges the negativity towards those currently being discriminated against as part of the hostile environment policy and the current and ongoing consequences of the Windrush scandal. Everyone needs to read this.

Written by the children and grandchildren of the Windrush generation, Mother Country tells the story of those who travelled eight thousand miles to come to Britain to live. The stories are told by well known names such as Lenny Henry and Corrine Bailey Rae. As is often the case with this type of book, some stories are inevitably better than others. The good thing is that if you're not enjoying a story it doesn't last very long but its frustrating when you get really into something and it just ends! Overall, I found this an enjoyable and informative read.

My three daughters are 3rd generation descendants of the Windrush Generation..Their grandparents would tell me of their harrowing experience when they arrived here for that better life, aswell as telling uu about their lives in the beautiful island of Jamaica.
Now through reading this book, I see that their experience was what the majority went through. Awful experiences for a generation that were asked to come here and help the Mother Country.
These short chapters are a fantastic insight into the lives of these contrasting characters; a great read especially for those who have connections to the Windrush Generation.

Excellent read. Real heart and warmth, genuinely well written and interesting. Thoroughly recommended as gives a real insight into the Windrush generation. Brilliant book.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
An exploration of the Windrush generation featuring David Lammy, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Sharmaine Lovegrove, along with many others.
For the Windrush generation and those who came before, Britain was ‘the Mother Country’, they made the long journey across the sea to a country thousands of miles from home where they expected to find a place where they would be welcomed, a place where you could build a new life, where you could be anybody. What they instead found was a country that objected to them being here simply because of the colour of their skin, it didn’t matter if you actually came to work or you were actually a chancer all that they saw was that you weren’t white and that was all that counted, it would be nice if in the intervening years things had changed but between the despicable attempts to try and deport the surviving members of the Windrush generation, the demonization of all Muslims because of the actions of a few, and the rise of far right movements across the world it is clear that we haven’t learnt a damned thing.
If you only read one story from this book then it has to be the one about Joy Gardner, a woman whose only crime was to have over stayed her visa, and being black. Given the level of restraint used against Joy you would think that she was a serial killer.

This is an evocative, emotional and brilliantly written collection of interviews and essays with children of the Windrush Generation, a group of Caribbean immigrants who were brought to the UK in the post-war years to help rebuild the fractured economy and the devastated country. They provided integral support to many of Britain's institutions- particularly the NHS and manufacturing industries- yet found themselves on the receiving end of racism, discrimination in housing, education and career prospects, government treatment and access to UK citizenship, and ultimately the culminating Windrush scandal. Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff writes honestly and with great care, letting his subjects speak directly for themselves and invite the reader into their individual lives. In some cases, you are talking directly with those who immigrated to the country, whereas with others you are reading about first and second generations trying to blend their own sense of Britishness with the diaspora of their heritage. It's well structured and immensely readable, without pushing politics too much. Rather, it puts the individuals right at the forefront and makes for a richly cultural, wonderfully written and often, heartbreakingly sad, memoir of many.

Ever since the story involving the disgrace of a Home Office broke in the news, I'd been following it. Having finished an Empire course which included learning about the experiences of the British empire on people who were from Britain's colonies, I found the story interesting and quite shocking. When I saw this book through NetGalley, I knew I just had to read it, and I'm glad I got the chance to read this novel.

I felt that I was able to learn a lot more about the experiences of the Windrush and their reasons for coming over to Britain. The book was able to give me an insight into another culture which I probably would have gotten the chance to learn about. I found the different stories interesting, and I was hooked from the first one. I appreciated the focus on women within the novel, as a historian I feel this is important.

I found this book absolutely fascinating and would highly recommend. The stories are edited by Charlie but she lets the stories of the Windrush generation shine.

There are stories from people of all walks of life and they make for interesting reading. Some make you smile, some are interesting, some make you sad and others angry.

We learn of the journeys to "a better life", the hardship, the parties, the families, the work, the food and those who make the trip back. Highly recommend.

I've read numerous pieces of Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff's writings in various publications so was keen to read this. Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for providing me with a review copy.

This book is a wonderful collection of the stories of the families of the Windrush generation. The Windrush issue is currently prevalent in the media and although most have heard about it, many may not understand the background and why what is happening to those affected by it is injust. I will hold my hand up and say I too was in this camp, but this book enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of the situation and how it has impacted the people involved.

This book also gave me an insight into a different culture, one that is unfamiliar to me. Growing up and living in rural Scotland does not always give me the exposure to other cultures but by reading this book I was able to gain a glimpse into the experiences of others. I particularly appreciated the focus on women's stories, something the author highlighted had been largely absent in other collections.

The book chronicles the sacrifices made by many and the families that were often broken as a result. The sacrifice made for a country that invited them and then years later tried to devalue and deny their contributions. There are heartbreaking anecdotes of racism, and the determination to hold onto their culture despite the hostility they faced. However, there is also joy, humour and a quiet dignity from the mix of celebrities and everyday people who have contributed their stories to this book.

With my educator hat on, first hand accounts are invaluable in helping students to really empathise with the impact governmental decisions can have on the lives of those affected by them. I would recommend this book as reading to anyone wishing to explore these issues with their classes.

Review also posted to Goodreads, Amazon UK and my personal blog.

Such an interesting, informative book. I whizzed through the accounts told within and learnt so much about the scandal.

This was a remarkable book. Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, while injecting his own personality into the introduction, wisely takes a step back letting the accounts of Windrush families from all walks of life do the talking. Some of their stories are moving, anger-inducing, heartbreaking, and inspiring. There were a number of accounts in this book that left me in awe of what so many individuals put themselves through to try to make a home in the UK under less than welcoming conditions.

Makes the Windrush Scandal seem even more horrific if it were possible..

Highly recommended.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and Headline.