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Will This House Last Forever?

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Will This House Last Forever?

By: Xanthi Barker
Narrated by: Xanthi Barker
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About this listen

When Xanthi Barker's father died when she was in her mid 20s, she could make no sense of her grief for a man who had been absent for most of her life. Her father, poet Sebastian Barker, had left Xanthi, her mother and her brother to pursue writing and a new relationship, when Xanthi was a baby. Growing up, she had always struggled to reconcile his extravagant affection - a rocking horse crafted from scavenged wood, the endless stream of poems and drawings and letters, conversations that spiralled from the structure of starlight to philosophy to Bruce Springsteen - with the fact that he could not be depended upon for more everyday things. Though theirs was a relationship defined by departures, he always returned, so why should this farewell be any different, or more final?

Will This House Last Forever? is a heartfelt and wholly original memoir about the pain of having to come to terms with a parent's mortality, the way grief so utterly defies logic and about learning to see the flaws in those that we love and let them go.

©2021 Xanthi Barker (P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Grief & Loss Personal Development Relationships Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

"It felt such a privilege to read this book. Raw, devastating, beautifully formed. Let's keep our eye on Barker." (Daisy Johnson)
All stars
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I share some things with the writer in that I have been shaped by longing for a father who left. I'm one of millions I guess, so be warned this might be painful, but it's beautiful I think.

Exquiste

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This book is a true masterpiece. Touching and fabulous. Truly something you need to read!

Beautiful

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I’ve just finished Xanthi’s eloquent reading and I’m now buying the hardback so that I can share this excellent example of how powerful memoir writing can be with my students.
Having been estranged from my own parents for many years now, this has given me such comfort and hope that we can learn so much from our past experiences. Wonderful.

Simply beautiful. Raw and powerful.

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An insightful exploration of the impact of absent parents on their children and the confusing paradox of negative and positive feelings towards that parent. Interesting in its conversational tone and I could empathise with Xanthi as I too had an absent father (wholly absent though) who died when I was 17 - For me it was the ‘lost’ without being ‘found’ resolution or lack thereof. Xanthi’s sense of loss and grief mingled with love and hate is an interesting and poignant narrative which will resonate with many.

An insight into loss, love and grief

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