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Ootlin

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Ootlin

By: Dr Jenni Fagan
Narrated by: Isis Hainsworth
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The government told a story about me before I was born.

Jenni Fagan was property of the state before birth. She drew her first breath in care and by the age of seven, she had lived in fourteen different homes and had her name changed multiple times.

Twenty years after her first attempt to write this powerful memoir, Jenni is finally ready to share her account. Ootlin is a journey through the broken UK care system – it is one of displacement and exclusion, but also of the power of storytelling. It is about the very human act of making meaning from adversity.

'Beautiful, deep, transfixing . . . it will burn a home in your heart' LEMN SISSAY

'Essential reading, life-changing' SAMANTHA MORTON

'An astonishing piece of work' NIALL GRIFFITHS

©2023 Jenni Fagan (P)2023 Penguin Audio Art & Literature Authors Women Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Memoir

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Critic reviews

"Beautiful, deep, dangerous, transfixing...it will burn a home in your heart, it has in mine... From start to finish I could not put it down." (Lemn Sissay)

"A phenomenal memoir. I am in awe. It takes exceptional strength to survive the events described in this book and courage, skill and magic to write a life story, especially when this type of story is often marginalised." (Amy Liptrot)

"Unbelievably brave. Beautiful, earth-shattering and unforgettable. A truly rare talent." (Samantha Morton)
All stars
Most relevant
Wow what a book. A harrowing story, beautifully written. This is a story that needs to be told and will stay in my mind forever. So sad, such strength, truly heartbreaking.
The narrator reads this perfectly and gives the story the feeling and respect it deserves.

A remarkable memoir

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Beautiful memoir, very well narrated, the writing is poetic despite it being a hard story. I cried and wanted to scream when listening to this book. I don’t think I will ever forget this book.

Hard but powerful

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I am so overwhelmed in a good way by how brilliant this book is. A lesson for all of us to never judge or turn a blind eye to the issues in society that are wrong. Thank you for being brave enough to put your story down on paper.

Such an incredible book

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It's hard to conceive of how much courage, strength, determination and artistic and intellectual brilliance it must have taken to create such beauty by revisiting and exposing the grievous failures of a system and human beings. Dr Fagan's experiences in the care system and situations/relationships arising from these are vividly, powerfully rendered in prose, and Isis Hainsworth's narration is compelling.

Soaring, Shining Indictment

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There aren’t really words to describe this book that aren’t reductive in the face of all the author endured. One can only bear witness to the story of Fagan, who experienced a thousand lifetimes just in her childhood, and more negative experiences (spanning from the unkind to the evil) than any human should have to bear once.
The book is beautifully written, and expertly narrated, an absolute must-listen.

Powerful and Moving

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