This is a very personal and interesting memoir that provides social commentary on growing up in the 70s and 80s in a council estate.

It talks about religion, mental health, social services and her father's murder.

It was interesting to read about both Tracy and her sisters' experience as “school refusers” where for different reasons they both failed to attend school and received a lack of support from social services and the local authorities. Whilst I think there is more mental health support in schools now than there was then, I think we are still a long way from where we need to be.

It was also interesting when King later in life dug into the details of her father's death and discovered a lot of what she believed was in fact not true. I think she dealt with it incredibly well and has come out of it a stronger person.

Not one I loved but an interesting read all the same.

I didnt realise how hard it is to write reviews of non-fiction; apologies to Tracy and Doubleday for my clumsy words!

It felt like a real privilege to be able to read Tracy's story and watch how her life experiences brought her to where she is today.

Growing up in a working class household in the 1970s, it was expected that Tracy would leave school, get married and have children; there weren't many societal expectations for her or her family. Coupled with her dad's alcoholism, her sister going into care and her mum finding Jesus as a born again Christian, life wasn't easy for Tracy in her teenage years; in fact, the book opens with her being exorcised to rid her and her family from demons that are supposedly plaguing them.

A family takeaway night ends in tragedy as her father is killed by some teenagers from the same estate. The family reacts in different ways, with Tracy mainly skipping school and walking for hours; there's very little in the way of formal education.

As Tracy grows up and goes to college, she develops eclectic interests in all manner of things, using her past experiences to drive her forward. Through her wide interest she learns to see that one person's recall of events isnt necessarily the truth. This comes into its own when Tracy actively thinks about what happened on the night of her father's death; is the story she's always believed actually the truth?

Tracy's interests in critical thinking and challenging oneself to ask questions is such a wonderful attribute to have, and one that seems to have been lost in recent times. She talks about the power of education and questioning what we've been told; it has given me a lot to think about.

Thank you so much to Doubleday for letting me read this advance copy.

Social history book of the 70's and 80' based in the Midlands heartlands. Poverty and believes are tested in this book.

I felt it could have been reduced down to a shorter memoir in places.

Not one to read if you are feeling down.

This book is a feast of good writing - mostly memoir, but particularly enjoyable for anyone who is interested in modern British social history. It could be edited down to a shorter read, but still really enjoyable.

King confronts her family's own problems in a candid and unapologetic look at the most difficult days of her life. It can be difficult to read at times - there are moments of genuine pain and frustration - but there is also hope and perseverance running beneath it all.

While her narrative of her formative years is evocative storytelling in and of itself, it is also an investigation of the stories we tell ourselves, and how our recollections are not always accurate. That, I believe, is what makes this memoir so compelling (and so relatable): at its core, it is all about learning and the ability to adapt even in the most difficult circumstances. Learning to Think is a thought-provoking work that is both powerful and moving.

As an educator myself I am absolutely passionate about education if its done right.
This book highlights what can happen when it isn't and sadly tends to affect lower income families. A great read none the less.

Learning to Think is a raw and unflinching memoir of working-class childhood, trauma and survival.

King takes a raw and unflinching look at the most challenging days of her life, reckoning with her family's personal demons. At times it can make for difficult reading - there are moments of real pain and frustration - but there is also hope and resilience running underneath it all.

While the retelling of her formative years is evocative storytelling in itself, it is also an exploration of the stories we tell ourselves, and how our memories are not always reflective of the whole truth. I think that's what makes this memoir so engaging (and so relatable): at its heart, it is all about learning and the capacity for change even in the most challenging circumstances.

Powerful and poignant, Learning to Think is a thought-provoking read.

A very well written, moving memoir.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Learning to Think is a great read. The simple style of this beautifully written book makes it accessible. A very human suffering of a child’s journey to attitude charts how resilience, authenticity and love wins the day. Tracy King touched my heart and shows what is possible when hope and compassion reign.

Evocative, relateable and eminently readable, my thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of Learning to Think.

This book starts with a bang, then retraces its steps to become more of a slow burn. The author seems blessed - or cursed - with total recall of every detail of an extraordinary childhood, which I felt occasionally slowed the pace - I was eager to get back to the drama of the opening pages - but when I finished I realised that every single word was necessary to experience things through King's eyes. Sobering reading, highly recommended.

This is not a book looking at the many failings around her life and her family that were made by the people that should have been looking out for her but a brutally honest book about the strength of character we can all be born with and how even in very harsh and sad conditions it can either break you or make you and thankfully in this book it made her. A great read.

Quite a hard book to read at times but details Tracy King's life and her personal struggles. Tracy is a very independent, intelligent young woman who had a difficult, but loving, upbringing. I feel that she possibly needed to write this book for cathartic reasons and I hope it helped as the last part seemed more of an essay exploring truth. A powerful story about poverty intertwined with anxiety, phobias and alcoholism plus a good dollop of superstition and a zealous brand of Christianity. Disturbing in it's own way.

This is an intensely personal memoir about Tracy's life mostly relating to when she was younger, mostly in her teens. It is remarkable for its openness and, under the circumstances its balance. There is a "born again" Christian part of this and aspects of her childhood and early on her teen years to a degree were quite happy. However under the surface things were not always that good. The book opens with her being exorcised of her demons by to men from her church. Her father had difficulties with work in part due to his alcoholism. Her mother had mental health issues and Tracy was often acting a support for her. Her older sister had issues with school attendance and was placed into care. Add in the fact that her father was murdered and I find it remarkable that Tracy can writes such an account of her life.

The more I look back on reading this the less I like the idea of passing judging on this in terms of ratings. On platforms that allow no rating that is what I will do. In no way is this intended as a judgement on this book, simply the fact that I fail to see what right I have to "review" in that way the life that Tracy had. The contrasts in Tracy life are wide and varied. The fact that she managed to get through to where she is now speaks volumes for her as a person. However it also says a lot to me about the positives from her early life often provided by her parents.

I really liked the fact that there is some humour here too. While Tracy found that conventional education didn't work for her (any more than it had for her sister) she didn't let little things like that stop her - I loved her description of the German exam she took having only done one class on the subject in the whole year. For me it said quite a lot about her and in a positive way.

I found this very readable however the book changed for me around 75% through to something that went up a level. Having maybe got on top of the real issues in her life Tracy decides she wants to look further at her father's murder. I was frankly amazed at the way she dealt with this aspect - again it says a great deal about her as a person. Worth bearing in mind that Tracy says
"…trauma like mine is not rare. What is rare is that someone like me has an opportunity to tell her story". Sadly I think that is very true and for that alone this book is important.

I'd like to return to the title of this book - Learning to Think. To me it's a very good title and maybe is key to Tracy's life and ability to recover in the broadest sense from the events in her early life. It fascinated me (and I was slightly envious) that her father used to give them "logic" problems to solve. I guess as an engineer of sorts this was something quite basic to him. I do feel that set a wonderful foundation for her ability to think. After that came people she met and engaged with (rarely school based). After that she started reading quite deep and profound books. I can't judge what worked for Tracy but these feel like significant factors on her life journey to me.

This really is a unusual and remarkable read. There are plenty of parts of this book that I made notes on and might comment on however it is far better to discover her story for yourself. It won't be for everyone however I'm guessing that quite a few people will finds aspects of this resonate with them. It made me smile, it made me angry, it made me sad and sincerely I thanks Tracy for sharing her story.

A beautifully written memoir that tells a brilliant yet haunting tale. I would absolutely recommend this book, it is a masterpiece.

To be honest - I didn't really understand the reason behind this? From the blurb I assumed it was going to be about how a family had been sucked into a cult. But that never actually went anywhere. So it just seemed to be about someone's childhood and how much they disliked school. Of course there was tragedy in their life, but it was only at the end that I wondered if that was the book was supposed to be about - trying to find out what had happened. I read all the book waiting for a big exposure and to get to a big outcome but it never actually happened. And I left the book feeling a bit confused and not really understanding the point of it.

King writes an incredibly emotional, thoughtful and poignant story that tells her childhood growing up on a newly-built council estate in Birmingham, and the traumatic moments that defined her life. I found myself unable to put this book down, and saw mirrors of my own life, growing up not exactly working class, and the struggles that come with that. She is unafraid to hide from the truth and the complexities that come with a difficult childhood. I adored her writing style and her determination to become something and be someone. King’s story resembles my own, my friends, and so many people I know, and the willpower to break free.

This is a very powerful true story of the King Family told by Tracy of growing up in poverty in Great Britain

She details the life she leads with her sister, Mother and Father they all have their own problems but are a very happy family with lots of laughter. Life changes when Tracy's father dies when she is 12 and the effect of his death on her.

I was fortunate to come from a middle class family, both parents working and did not realise the effect of living in
poverty could have..

I would like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

The child Tracy King is being exorcised. Now that’s a powerful start to any story. This one’s real.
I am ambiguous about some of the issues raised in this memoir. And despite the family having a rough time, a little bit of my empathy goes to the much maligned social services. What were they supposed to do when faced with a family where Dad is an alcoholic, where there are multiple holes punched into doors, the mother doesn’t leave the house and neither daughter attends school? Should they leave them be, only to be hauled over the coals should the situation escalate?
Sure, there are predators all round: the loan shark, the cult religion, the get-rich-quick schemes, the overpriced hire purchase, but is there also an element of “need to treat myself”, “to hell with tomorrow”, “what rainy day”?
Of course, this all recedes into the background when Tracy’s life is turned upside down with her father’s death when she is 12 years old. This book’s focus is on the why and how of this event and told by a very erudite Tracy.

It was a pleasure delving into the early life of Tracy King for a few days as she describes growing up on the outskirts of Birmingham, in a timeline very similar to my own. Any Generation X-ers out there will recognise the shifting societal values, the access to personal computers and the latch key kids on the streets.

Tracy describes the problems her family faced, but makes it clear it was a loving family, albeit one suffering poverty and the nosey interference from social services when both girls develop school phobias. But it is one life changing event, the death of her father when she was 12 years old, that takes over as the understandable obsession of the book, first revealing the events as they happen through the eyes of the early teenager, and towards the end, the adult searching for answers.

Is this a cautionary tale, the author asks at the end. It could be said so for the social and school systems that must learn from the mistakes of the past. For me though, it was an uplifting story of triumph over adversity, and an inspiring tale of forgiveness.

Well worth a read.