Skint Estate

Skint Estate should never have been written.

Skint Estate should never have been written because no-one in Britain should have to experience the circumstances described by the author. Food banks, zero hours contracts, extorting landlords, domestic abuse - none of these should be a part of our society. The stark reality is that there is no social justice for people like the author, who writes with an alternating sense of desperation and resignation.

If you want to know what poverty is really like, read this book.

Skint Estate by Cash Carraway isn't for everyone, numerous bodily functions are ,described in detail , scatological, gynaecological, menstrual and sexual. Cash tells it like it is and some will be offended. More offensive to me was hearing about the way vulnerable people are being "cleansed" from rich London Boroughs to make room for the more affluent side of society and the way women are treated that makes them seek the shelter of Refuges.
Cash, and I'll use her first name as I felt I knew her very well by the end of the book, has certainly seen a lot of life, from her abusive childhood ,working in the sex industry from her teens , alone and pregnant in a Woman's Refuge through life as a social media "Influencer" then back down to earth again with a bang and yet another Refuge before life finally began to work out for her.
The book is brutally honest and Cash admits to her many mistakes and unwise relationships but through it all she keeps going, with a fairly major blip along the way, despite the knockbacks for the sake of her Daughter. Her love for her Daughter probably saves her life and she movingly tells us of finding unconditional love for the first time when she becomes a mother.
This is a moving book,a shocking book ,a political book and often an angry book ,Cash's writing is very much stream of consciousness and she certainly speaks her mind. In the latter part of the book she tells us that she realises that telling people things about her life that others would probably not admit to she's opening herself up to a lot of public criticism. I'm sure she will from some quarters but hopefully more will listen to her message and realise quite how much of a struggle life is for the working classes in this country, not least women. There is quite a lot of political comment but it's all relevant to her story and that of increasing numbers of others in this country..
It's not all doom and gloom and there are many acts of kindness from often unexpected quarters shown in the book.
I read this book from start to finish on a day when I was supposed be doing other things but I was gripped by Cash's story and what she had to say about the reality of life for those often vilified in our glorious gutter press and exploited by cynical TV Executives happy to use life's less fortunate as a freak show. It says a lot about this country that if Cash hadn't had the price of a Taxi fare her daughter might well be dead,that's the reality of being poor.
Great book,amazing woman.
Big thanks to Cash Carraway, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the AFC in return for an honest review.

I found it hard to put this book down and finished it in two sittings. It's written with raw energy and humour and yet I was left feeling depressed. The author made her voice heard, but she is in a minority and the country continues to vote conservative and brush poverty under the carpet.

A brutally honest book about the deplorable state of existence below the poverty line in this country. All politicians should read this and think long and hard about their policies and the way that a large proportion of the population have a hand to mouth existence. The book is difficult to read not only in content but in style but such is the way of angry rants that need to be said especially by women who bear the brunt of appalling situations. Read this book, be appalled but learn and empathise.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

I don't know where to start with this review.

Maybe at the horror of reading about Cash in a filthy train toilet, with faeces artwork, trying to pee on a stick. Or maybe the heartbreak of her social media announcement with her 12 week scan and instead of messages of congratulations and support, she receives messages about abortions. The beating that resulted in her fractured cheek? Her abusive relationships, both with men and her mum? The constant disappointment of her dad? Her struggle to provide a stable home and food for herself and her daughter despite having numerous jobs?

She takes a job in a peepshow whilst pregnant, she works on sex call lines and as a secret shopper in a desperate attempt to raise some money. There's a visit to a food bank that offers some much needed support for the small family.

But, whilst I read the book with compassion for Cash's horrendous struggle, I could not pity her. Pity seems too condescending for someone you respect, and I have nothing but respect for Cash. She is an unbelievably strong woman. Whilst she was left broken numerous times, she wasn't defeated.

What comes through is her utter devotion to her daughter, everything she does is to provide for her.

There is an angry speech at the end which surprised me and I first thought was 'there was no need for that'. But then I realised that I was speaking from a position of relative privilege. Whilst I'm not rich, I have not had struggles that come anywhere close to those Cash experienced. So, yes, Cash deserves to be angry and everyone should be angry that women like her are struggling, every day, battling the government and society, just to live. It's not humane, it's not fair and it's not right.

Searing account of the author's struggle to carve out a reasonable life in the brutal austerity world we live in. Vital reading for anyone who wants to know the stories behind the statistics. Be warned, the author takes no prisoners, this is not - as she points out - poverty porn for the well-intended to satisfy a guilty pleasure with.

Cash will probably be very angry with my review.

I was appalled to be presented with such a stark picture of the plight of normal women on the poverty line and whilst I am always on the side of the underdog in most things, the book made me have a long hard think about my own lower middle class presumptions about how people end up in dire straits.

Raw , rage filled, honest and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Being disowned by her parents and being pushed from pillar to post in different establishments as a young child Cash Carraway finds herself pregnant, with no home, a job in a peep show displaying all her wares for men to pay sitting in booths, doing what they do, she is at the lowest anybody can go. She has been a victim of not only mental violence but physical as well She moves into a women's refuge and is living below the poverty line. She doesn't want this for her little girl so she works and fights to make her daughters life nothing like hers at all, she has so much love to give.
There are some funny laugh out loud moments but all in all, this is a story of a woman that fights and fights for herself and her daughter, who like many have been abandoned by society.
Maybe a copy of this should be sent to the prime minister as it is a good factual account of how people are living in today's society and struggling with living day to day.
Cash says it out loud and is very matter of fact in her descriptions.
I would recommend everybody read this book as it is life in "rich" Britain today, where everybody thinks it is the land of golden opportunity but in FACT, is far from it for the people who live here.
Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Hard hitting, thought provoking. The reality of zero hour contracts, living below the poverty line and working many low paying jobs to keep paying rent in London. Juggling bills, safety and caring for her wonderful young daughter. Opened my eyes to a different reality that at times is painful to read and know it's the truth of Cash reality and not just in years ago but as recent as 2019.

Cash Carraway describes herself at one point as '...a chancer and a fake, searching for a version of myself that could never exist.' At many points throughout this memoir, I admit that I agreed with her.

The author may be a classic anti hero- as a reader you may not at all agree with her decisions or her madness but the truth of her statements are undeniable. These are truths that need to be written, shared, and shouted until change occurs. As much as I enjoyed the sensationalist side of things- frankly who hasn't wanted to bleed all over the face of Jacob Rees Mogg- I appreciated much more the call to action. My book copy is littered with notes of affirmation because we ARE marginalising the voiceless and the vulnerable. We ARE ring fencing London and other major cities to make sure that only the rich survive, unless you are lucky enough to cling to multigenerational housing. We ARE at the mercy of capitalism, and we ARE definitely headed to a crisis point if indeed that point has not already been reached. By the end of Skint Estate I am convinced it is a love story. Not just from a mother to her child, but from a citizen to her city. From a woman, to other women. From one human being to every other human being and from one small voice to all the other small voices.

"Imagine if we all spoke up together."

This was a very good (albeit sometimes graphic) description of a life in poverty. I definitely learned a lot, feel extremely guilty for my privilege, and am angrier than ever at the Tories and those who support them. I raced through it, and whilst it’s hard to describe this kind of memoir as enjoyable, there were moments of hope and bits to laugh at too. Would highly recommend.

Skint Estate is all at once captivating, raw, funny, highly emotive, and provocative in how it portrays the stark reality of life living on the poverty line. Cash Carraway brings a brilliant and original voice with bold, graphic descriptions of the people and situations she encounters. She tells her story with a dark sense of humour in places, but the reality of the life she tells is shocking. There's food banks, violence, domestic abuse, alcohol, the anxiety of having to move home every six months with a young child in tow, and dealing with the stigma in society of being a working class single parent. Early on in the book I questioned what seemed to be assumptions that abusive relationships have a class association, but she later makes the point really well that no-one knows what's hiding behind the glossy veneer of a middle class lifestyle in all its Instagram perfection.

I wasn't keen on the political angle of the book and I don't think the points needed to be made so forcefully because Carraway's voice and story are so powerful anyway. I found the repeated references to blaming the Tory government for everything too ranting and extreme, and I wasn't clear on how the future suddenly became more bleak overnight in 2010. I was also put off by generalisations about Tory voters (all evil) and Labour voters (all good), and Kent as a county being described as 'racist', as if everyone in society could be labelled in that way on the basis of how they vote or where they live. I found the suggestion that the lack of women's refuges in London was part of a sinister social cleansing agenda by the government comparable to Nazi Germany completely absurd. There are undoubtedly some valid political points to be made in Carraway's story but I think they could have been more effectively made in more considered way with more reference to facts and evidence.

But overall I really enjoyed this book and it stayed with me long after finishing it. Highly recommended.

Hard to read in this day and age. Poverty the benefits system and where people are let down. True raw and brutal. Opens your eyes that people live this way. We are supposed to be a country that’s well off known for giving to anyone who comes here!!! While letting down our own

A very good look at poverty and how it can change your life. Very funny in bits but heart wrenching as well

This book is the most honest and fearless searching moral inventory I have read in many years.
On many levels Cash's life resonates with me and many shared experiences bind our lives.
This book needs to be read by people no matter their class or political views.
This is England 2020 and this book is a snapshot of life below the poverty line.
Absolutely fantastic and I'm so pleased to have had the opportunity to read and review, thank you!

A fascinating read, a series of stories in a memoir of how society treats who it considers to be lower working class. It’s funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. It’s not often I read a book twice but I would with this one. I’ve recommended this to a lot of people.

This is a brutally honest tale of life living as a single mother. Cash Carraway puts a humorous spin on this but underlying you can feel the heartbreak of the reality of her life. From uncaring and often violent parents. She struggles through life. Then at 29 finds herself in the midlands in an abusive relationship and pregnant. Having been given the offer of having an abortion or he partner beating the baby out of her. Cash flees back to London.
Working in a peep show whilst pregnant. Trying to get together enough money to give her child a better start in life.
But life throws curve balls. Cash describes the reality of life of a single mum. This book has certainly opened my eyes to the current state of my country.
Certainly a must read.

What a read! The first few pages left me feeling I wasn’t going to get into this book but then I did and wow!
It’s very down to earth, a very gritty, truthful insight into what living in real poverty in the UK is like.
There is a certain humour alongside the shocking and sad stories of her life.

A raw account of what life is like at the bottom of society, with no money, no future. Carraway is articulate and angry and with no family support. She tells it as it is. I wouldn't willingly read this again but I am glad I read it. I, like most of us, am very guilty of burying my head and hoping that things are ok. Clearly they are not.

This is such an important book that I recently read it again and will now be seeking out further titles from Carraway. Touching, profound and inspirational, the way Carraway has written is unique and addictive. Highly recommend.

As I read the first couple of pages of this book I admit I was already planning to not finish, but this is because you don’t often find a book so real, in your face, gritty and exposed. It makes you uncomfortable but I kept reading and after a few more pages I couldn’t put the book down. This is such a real story that people need to know, the writing style is effective and really quite eloquent and my eyes were opened to things that you just don’t know about when you are lucky to live a life without these kinds of problems. Really well put together book and I hope it spreads Cash’s story across the country and that it helps spark change in this corrupt and selfish society.

TW: domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, explicit language and discussions of sexual content

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read an eARC copy of Skint Estate.

Wow. All I can say to this book is Wow. It was a real eye-opener; in my job i'm no stranger to working with people who are in the depths of poverty but actually reading this deep and real experience of someone living below the poverty line was quite harrowing. I cannot imagine how Cash had such power to get up every day and carry on living. She was let down by almost everyone in her life; family, friends, loved ones, and professionals who are meant to be there to support you in the worst of times.

Cash doesn't hold back. And I don't think she should; this is the real experience of so many people and it needs to be shouted across the screens. People need to stand up and take notice and actually start doing something to change. This story just made me ache. I admire her bravery and her strength and her just real grit and determination. In the face of all this crap, she manages to have humour and an insane amount of love for her daughter. Everything Cash does she does for her daughter and that love she has for her is the thing that keeps her going. I read this in practically one sitting and literally couldn't put it down; any chance I had to pick it up and read another few pages I did.

The only only reason I gave it four stars was because the structure of the book was at times, just really confusing. The timeline jumps around quite a lot and it gets confusing at what stage in her life Cash is.

This book takes you to places you do not want to go but that you need to go to understand just what other people's lives are like. I highly recommend picking this one up but it is definitely not an easy read.

Publish Date: 12th March 2020

I read this in two sittings as found myself totally caught up! I enjoyed the conversational tone and Cash's humorous style of writing, however I do find her to be abit of an unreliable narrator at times. Not in any way saying that the events didn't happen, just that they would have read better in chronological order (for me at least).

This a brutal and unflinching look at Tory Britain's appalling treatment of poor people, and how our amazing welfare system that was so great in the 1960's and 1970's has never really recovered from Margaret Thatcher's time in power in the 1980's.

Probably not for everyone due to the language and almost every bodily function / fluid imaginable is part of Cash's story, however I loved it. Apart from the fact that Cash reeaalllly doesn't seem to like Pontefract or Wakefield (I'm from Pontefract ha-ha) I think we could be pals.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin random house UK for a this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Having read some articles about Cash Carraway I was interested to find she had written a memoir, but then I saw the title and cover of the book and I have to admit I was really put off as it reminded me of a sociology set book from the 1970s!
However, I was pleased I did read it as Ms Carraway is warm, witty and wise; I laughed with her and cried for her and women in a similar position with seemingly no future to live for. I respect truth and ability to survive for her daughter, but most of all I feel ashamed that as a country we still haven't risen up against austerity and inequality.
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

What a read! The first few pages left me feeling I wasn’t going to get into this book but then I did and wow!
It’s very down to earth, a very gritty, truthful insight into what living in real poverty in the UK is like.
There is a certain humour alongside the shocking and sad stories of her life.

My rating: ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐4 stars (out of 5)

I found Skint Estate to be a truly compulsive read. Cash is a great writer, and she tells her personal stories with depth and feeling. Yet it's the way that she always sets them against the wider context that makes this book a must read. For behind every story detailing her struggle to gain secure housing, her desire to find secure love, to ensure her daughter has what she needs, there is a Government that impoverishes through the name of austerity. There are also, abusive partners the law never quite manages to punish, neglectful parents, and a myriad of policies that make life for single, particularly working class parents based in London, basically impossible.

It's a book that should make you angry and frustrated and compels you into political action. I urge everyone to read it.

This book hits really really hard and is definitely a must-read for anyone in the UK. Whilst I’ve never been in the extreme position that Cash has, having come from a place of privilege, I could still really relate to the anger and exhaustion coming from her words. As someone who’s had to move out of my hometown near London because it was unaffordable, who works two jobs (one of them being zero hours, which is discussed A Lot) and my struggles with my mental health I felt this book in my bones and devoured it in one day.
When it comes to politics I’m 50% constantly furious and 50% completely burned out, and this helped ignite the flame of fury and ebb away at the burn-out.
Don’t vote Tory lads

This book is absolutely essential in the UK; now and in the future. It's visceral and takes a long, hard look at life when the system continually fails. All future politicians should have to read this book to truly understand what the life of those they ignore is like: the struggle, the poverty, the sheer drive to continue. Cash Carraway's book is an absolutely must-read and a completely accurate account of life under Tory rule during the 2010's.

Refreshingly honest, pulls no punches - this should be on everyone's reading list for years to come.