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.

I didn't know much about this book when I started reading it but I am so glad that I did! As a therapist I found it very thought provoking. I am very aware of how our memories can be distorted and the way religion can almost hypnotise us. Tracy King grows up to challenge all her previous beliefs and some of her memories. A highly thought provoking and interesting read.

A really interesting memoir about growing up in poverty in the UK and the affects that has on mental health and belief systems. I learned a lot from this book and it really opened my eyes to some of the unexpected challenges that poverty can bring.

My only criticism is that I found the book a bit repetitive towards the end.

Thanks to the publisher for access to this ARC.

A thought provoking and griping biography exploring issues of poverty, living within the benefits system and the challenges this presents, class culture, religion and conspiracy theories, and what truth really means.

Whilst also a sad sorry, it's also inspiriting not only how Tracy managed to turn her life around but also how her Mum and sister also found their own way and success of their lives after tragedy.

An interesting and eye opening exploration of poverty, mental illness, damaging religion, and a hunt for justice. Throughout the author is searingly honest not only about her life but also about her inability to remember everything well and how that affected her viewpoints and search for justice regarding her father's death.

What a powerful book. It will bruise your heart and sadden you. It's a book of it's time and hopefully circumstances will not be repeated in the 21st century.
Prejudice for where people live and personal circumstances are still prevalent today but dealing with mental illness and children have moved forward.
Credit to Tracy, Emily and mum Jackie for all the trauma they have overcome and triumphed.
All the issues are serious and profound with major impact.
It's trite and patronising to say the book is inspiring as it does not give credit to all the people in the book and their roles.
All I want to say is thank you for sharing your life with us readers

An extremely powerful and inspiring memoir. Tracy King allows us to journey through her very challenging upbringing where she deals with her father's traumatic death at the age of 12, her mother's agoraphobia, her sister being removed from the family due to being a 'school refuser', poverty, various degrees of religious abuse and numerous failures of statutory services.
In spite of all her early challenges Tracy's love of books facilitates her eventual freedom from her past as she learns a different way to think and view the world and its events.
Beautifully written and very poignant.
I am grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

A really singular book, written with pin-sharp focus, that outlines the circumstances of a working-class Eighties childhood as well as a young girl's journey towards wisdom, context, perspective and self-knowledge.

Tracy King was only a little girl when her beloved father Mike was killed during an altercation on their estate. The most gripping part of the book, about two-thirds through, concerns her informal investigation into what happened, having been given some contradictory information by the police in 1989.

The book is also a timely look at school refusal/school phobia, class and identity. Tracy's journey towards a successful career in science communication, tech and marketing is fascinating, but possibly the real heroine of the book is Tracy's gentle, eccentric mother Jackie, at odds with the world, who manages to beat her agoraphobia and demons through exposure therapy, and surmount being widowed before forty to go on and have a great life and career.

While the story starts with the family's conversion to evangelical Billy Graham-style Christianity, this is no 'Educated,' - the Kings seem to drift naturally away from the church and towards their own ideas of truth - but all of it is fascinating and well worth a read.

Surviving the system, when the system is broken and sets out to make matters worse every step of the way

Very excited to read, review, and acquire this title. I find Tracy’s story to be incredibly interesting and moving to see her learn and navigate for herself is going to be quite the tale. I will be sharing more thoughts and a full review soon.