{"product_id":"a-working-class-family-ages-badly-a-search-for-happiness-9780349702339","title":"A Working-Class Family Ages Badly: A Search for Happiness","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Delicate and devastating. Up there with the best of them.' HANNAH LOWE, WINNER OF THE COSTA PRIZE \u003cbr\u003e 'Roche is a charming, unflinchingly honest guide on a journey that's as funny as it is heart-breaking.' JUNO DAWSON\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow does an untrained eye recognise the process of dying, when your mind is fixed firmly on living?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radically honest and uplifting memoir about defying death and learning to live. \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJuno Roche\u003c\/b\u003e was born into a working-class family in London in the sixties, who dabbled in minor crime. For their father, \u003cb\u003eviolence and love\u003c\/b\u003e lived together; for their mother, addiction was the only way to survive. School was a respite, but shortly after beginning their university course \u003cb\u003eJuno was diagnosed with HIV, then a death sentence\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Juno is a survivor; they outlived their diagnosis, got a degree and became an artist. But however hard you try to take the kid out of the family, some scars go too deep; trying to run from AIDS and their childhood threw Juno into \u003cb\u003edark years of serious drug addiction\u003c\/b\u003e, addiction often financed by sex work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Running from home eventually took Juno \u003cb\u003eacross the sea to a tiny village in Spain\u003c\/b\u003e, surrounded by mountains. Only once they found a quiet little house with an olive tree in the garden did Juno start to wonder if they had run too far, and \u003cb\u003ewhether they have really been searching for a family all along\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In an incredibly \u003cb\u003ehonest and brave book\u003c\/b\u003e, Juno takes us through the moments of their life: Mum sending Christmas cards containing Valium, drug withdrawal on a River Nile cruise, overcoming their father's violence and finding their dream house in Spain. Showing immense resilience, Juno's memoir is \u003cb\u003ea book about what it means to stay alive\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Emotional, tragic and incredibly funny, \u003ci\u003eRoam \u003c\/i\u003eis an unforgettable must-read memoir for anyone who loves \u003ci\u003eEducated\u003c\/i\u003e, Deborah Levy and \u003ci\u003eMotherwell\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Full of \u003cb\u003eheart, wit and charm\u003c\/b\u003e. I'm \u003cb\u003eobsessed\u003c\/b\u003e with this book.' \u003cb\u003eTravis Alabanza \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e '\u003cb\u003eSo gripping\u003c\/b\u003e, I had to make myself slow down to appreciate the quality of the writing. Such a \u003cb\u003epowerful story and so beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003ePaul Burston\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Utterly unique. Nobody can write with \u003cb\u003ewarmth and confrontation\u003c\/b\u003e the way Juno can.' \u003cb\u003eTom Rasmussen\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Compassionate, dreamlike and \u003cb\u003edeeply moving\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eCN Lester\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Should be read by \u003cb\u003eeveryone\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eIrenosen Okojie \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Juno has always been a literary voice like no one else, \u003cb\u003escathingly honest and endlessly expansive\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003cb\u003eAmelia Abraham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Dialogue\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/07\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780349702339\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.71h x 5.03w x 0.80d","brand":"Juno Roche","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44792578179253,"sku":"9780349702339","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_e1b9649b-429d-423c-ac2f-129c69b9af2b.jpg?v=1731426682","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/a-working-class-family-ages-badly-a-search-for-happiness-9780349702339","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}