Learning to Think. cover art

Learning to Think.

A memoir about hardship, education, hellfire, family, finding a way to break free

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

When you have nothing, you cling to whatever gives you hope.

Put yourself in Tracy King's shoes. Growing up in an ordinary council estate outside Birmingham; a house filled with creativity, curiosity and love, but marked by her father's alcoholism and her mother's agoraphobia.

By the time she turns twelve her father has been killed, her sister taken into care and her mother ensnared by the promises of born-again Christianity.

This isn't the stuff of cult documentaries; this is the story of an ordinary family trapped in a broken system. It's a story that could happen to anyone without the tools to transform their circumstances. And it's the story of how Tracy found her way out.

A shocking, inspiring and ultimately hopeful memoir that holds up a mirror to the everyday realities of living in poverty, it is also a testament to the power of books and to learning to question our world.
'Tracy King's memoir is heartbreaking and hopeful...An incredible true story of survival and forgiveness.' TIM MINCHIN

'Raw and unflinching.' CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ

'A brilliant writer.' ADAM KAY

'What would you do if you began to suspect the events of your childhood didn't happen as you remembered them? In this evocative memoir, Tracy King confronts the stories we all tell ourselves in order to live.' HELEN LEWIS

©2024 Tracy King (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Art & Literature Authors Dysfunctional Families Education Parenting & Families Poverty & Homelessness Relationships Social Sciences Health Mental Health

Critic reviews

An astonishing account of a father’s violent death, exorcism and religious superstition….
Learning to Think is, in many ways, a book about demons: the addiction, violence, mental health struggles and, yes, superstition, that so often accompany poverty. But it’s also the story of an extraordinary family, full of energy and joie de vivre. It’s a story that brims with life and hard-won hope… Well structured and punchily told.

(Christina Patterson)
A memoir you read with the same breathlessness as you read the most gripping of novels ... An account of a family both torn apart and trapped by a broken system. A story of poverty and hardship, religion and superstition, but also an incredibly hopeful tale of how King got out of it.
An earth-shattering, hopeful memoir.
Reflective and compassionate, King gently reminds of the complex ways poverty wreaks havoc on people's lives.
A powerful depiction of a challenged but enterprising, intelligent and resilient family.
King's memoir is heartbreaking and hopeful; a devastating true story that teaches us how the pursuit of knowledge can be a path to both freedom and breathtaking grace. (Tim Minchin)
A raw and unflinching account of growing up in poverty which tackles the false narratives we tell ourselves to survive. (Caroline Criado Perez)
A brilliant writer (Adam Kay)
What would you do if you began to suspect the events of your childhood didn't happen as you remembered them? In this evocative memoir, Tracy King confronts the stories we all tell ourselves in order to live. (Helen Lewis, author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights)
You won’t often read a book so driven by raw emotion. A book of tragedy, hope and ultimately of triumph. (HH Wendy Joseph KC, author of Unlawful Killings)
All stars
Most relevant
What an incredible memoir, beautifully told and read by Tracy King. I've been in tears throughout for you and your family and will certainly take quite a few lessons learnt with me as I work in education and it's opened my eyes.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. If you ever finish the novel I'll certainly read it!

utterly compelling

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Poignant and eye-opening tale of trauma and disadvantage let down by a very irritating delivery, in which the narrator's voice spikes randomly upwards in almost every sentence. I wished I'd bought a paper or Kindle version of the book instead.

Good book, very annoyingly narrated

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Tracy tells, with empathy and deep understanding a heartbreaking- but also uplifting story- which you simply can’t put down.

Absolutely gripping

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A moving testimony of the journey so many of us make from jumbled upbringing, trauma, joy & finding ourselves…&, of course, learning how to think critically!

The author’s ability to often be amusing, serious & open all at once.

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Brilliantly read: powerful story which is simultaneously relatable and unrelatable. A book that changes your perspective in subtle ways. The power of money and critical thinking.

Powerful story that stays with you

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