Deborah Orr - Motherwell - A Girlhood (Book)
Synopsis
Sunday Times Bestseller & Radio 4 Book of The Week.
Just shy of 18, Deborah Orr left Motherwell - the town she both loved and hated - to go to university. It was a decision her mother Win railed against from the moment the idea was raised.
Win had very little agency in the world, every choice was determined by the men in her life. And strangely, she wanted the same for her daughter. Attending university wasn't for the likes of the Orr family. Worse still, it would mean leaving Win behind - and Win wanted Deborah with her at all times, rather like she wanted her arm with her at all times.
But while she managed to escape, Deborah's severing from her family was only superficial. She continued to travel back to Motherwell, fantasizing about the day that Win might come to accept her as good enough.
Though of course it was never meant to be.
Motherwell is a sharp, unflinching and often humorous memoir about the long shadow that can be cast when the core relationship in your life compromises every effort you make to become an individual. It is about what we inherit - the good and the very bad - and how a deeper understanding of the place and people you have come from can bring you towards redemption.
Details & Options
Choice of 2 options . . . Please select/choose your book using the rectangular buttons shown - where appropriate, the title, the price, the SKU and the front cover picture will alter automatically.
- New Paperback
- Format : Standard New Paperback
- Condition : New
- Category : Non-Fiction - Autobiography & Biography
- Published : 2020 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
- ISBN : 9781474611466
- SKU : B002488-1
- PPC : SP300gm
- RRP : £9.99
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
- 2nd Hand Hardback
- Format : Standard 2nd Hand Hardback with Dust Jacket
- Condition : As New
- Category : Non-Fiction - Autobiography & Biography
- Published : 2020 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson - 1st Edition, 6th Printing)
- ISBN : 9781474611459
- SKU : B002488-2
- PPC : SP500gm
- RRP : £16.99 (Unclipped)
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
External Reviews
'Motherwell is an object lesson in memoir' - The Telegraph.
'Utterly unflinching and staggeringly good, both as the history of a woman and the history of a place' - India Knight.
'A fierce and tender reckoning: personal, political, and blazing with truth' - Melissa Harrison.
'A masterpiece' - Andrew O'Hagan, Guardian.
'Completely amazing' - Lucy Mangan, Stylist.
'A modern classic' - Daily Mail.
'Razor-sharp, fearless & wonderful' - Adam Kay.
The Author
Deborah Jane Orr was a Scottish journalist who worked for The Guardian, The Independent and many other publications including Vogue, Grazia and Marie Claire. She was a contributing editor to Another Magazine and was the first female editor of the Guardian's Weekend Magazine at the age of thirty.
Deborah was a co-creator of 'Enquirer', a play commissioned by the National Theatre of Scotland, performed in London, Glasgow and Belfast, broadcast by Radio 4 and shortlisted for new play of the year in the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland.
Internal Reviews
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