Learning to Think

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

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Learning to Think

By: Tracy King

Narrated by: Tracy King

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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.

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Critic reviews

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)

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!