THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Both very funny and as propulsive as a thriller...impossible to put down' RACHEL COOKE, Observer
'Breathtaking . . . this book is a gift' MERYL STREEP
'The kind of book you will find yourself saying urgently, over and over, to friends: 'Have you read it?' CAITLIN MORAN
'Gripping, funny and always honest' DAVID NICHOLLS
'Truly breathtaking. I could not have loved it more' CAREY MULLIGAN
________________________
An ordinary day.
The end of ordinary life.
One morning in June, Abi had her to-do list - drop the kids to school, get coffee and go to work. Jacob had a bad headache so she added 'pick up steroids'. She returned home and found the man she loved and fought and laughed with for twenty years lying on the bathroom floor.
And nothing would ever be the same again.
But this is not a pity memoir. It's about meeting your person. And crazed late night Google trawls. It's about the things you wished you'd said to the person that matters then wildly over-sharing with the barista who doesn't know you at all. It's about sushi and the wrong shoes and the moments you want to shout 'cut'. It's about the silence when you are lost in space and the importance of family and parties and noise.
It's the difference between surviving and living.
It's a reminder that, even in the worst times, there is light ahead.
It's a love story.
Abi Morgan is a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning screenwriter whose credits include Sex Traffic, The Hour, Brick Lane, The Iron Lady, Shame and Suffragette. She is the creator and writer of BBC drama, The Split.
She lives with her husband, children and their dog, Styler, in London. This is her first book.
Title: This is Not a Pity Memoir: The heartbreaking and life-affirming memoir from the writer of The Split
Author: Morgan, Abi
ISBN: 9781529388336
Binding:
Publisher: John Murray Press
Publication Date: 2022-05-12
Number of Pages: 304
Weight: 0.4101 kg
Both very funny and as propulsive as a thriller...impossible to put down. -- RACHEL COOKE * Observer *
With her trademark deadpan, trenchant wit, and a deeply soulful mindfulness, Abi Morgan takes a breathtaking hike on the cliff edge of a life upended by illness. By turns harrowing, cracking sharp and heartbreaking, it is comforting to accompany someone with her sense of humor and the absurd on this trip - this book is a gift to anyone who has been similarly unmoored by fate and the furies -- MERYL STREEP
Very moving but never sentimental, tough but never cynical . . . gripping, funny and always honest -- DAVID NICHOLLS
Truly breathtaking. Arrestingly honest, funny, profound and exquisitely written. I could not have loved it more -- CAREY MULLIGAN
I wept. I laughed. I dared to hope. I felt my heart crack. This book is life. It is exceptional -- SAM BAKER
The kind of book you will find yourself saying urgently, over and over, to friends: 'Have you read it?' -- CAITLIN MORAN
An extraordinary story told extraordinarily well. I don't know how Abi Morgan has managed to live through all this, let alone write such a fascinating, heartbreaking yet frequently funny book about it. It is so gripping I honestly couldn't put it down -- MARINA HYDE
Funny and brutally honest . . . an absolute insight for those of us lucky enough to never know life like this -- PANDORA SYKES
Incredibly powerful, moving, funny, honest & brave. I LOVED it -- EDITH BOWMAN
A mash-up of all the things I love in a book - honesty, comedy, pathos and what-happens-next. It's brutal - in a good way - but above all else it's a testament to kindness, stickability and enduring love -- KIT DE WAAL
uplifting and powerful...highly recommended * Woman's Weekly *
A very moving and utterly absorbing story told with the surgical skill of the brilliant scriptwriter she is * ALEXANDRA SHULMAN *
A sharp, poignant and witty joy to read that will leave you energised and uplifted * CELIA WALDEN *
Astonishing, terrifying, heartbreaking... as well as grief and fear, there is humour, tenderness and so much love * Express *
Told with brutal honesty and a heroic amount of humour . . compelling * Radio Times *
Heart-breaking but life affirming and soul-stirring . . . Told with a candid honesty and humour . . . a touching love story and a testament to the human spirit, family and friendship -- SARRA MANNING, Red
Uplifting and powerful * Women and Home *
Captivating and compelling * Express *
Compelling . . . mordant humour and heart-warming beauty * Irish Independent *
I couldn't put it down -- EMMA BARNETT * Woman's Hour *
This Is Not a Pity Memoir ... hurtles along poetically, while managing to be funny and ultimately full of hope * Independent *
True to the book's title, [Abi is] a born storyteller sharing an extraordinary human tale in all its complexity, heartbreak and humour * Cardiff Western Mail *
a heartbreaking but hopeful read that will resonate with anyone who has had to cope with a loved one's illness * Chic, supplement to the Irish Daily Star *
Award-winning screenwriter Abi Morgan's account of how she effectively lost her husband to a terrible brain injury is full of heart yet simultaneously unsentimental * Business Post *