My Name Is Why (Unabridged)
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- £13.99
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- £13.99
Publisher Description
At the age of 17, after a childhood in an fostered family followed by six years in care homes, Norman Greenwood was given his birth certificate. He learned that his real name was not Norman. It was Lemn Sissay. He was British and Ethiopian. And he learned that his mother had been pleading for his safe return to her since his birth.
Here Sissay recounts his life story. It is a story of neglect and determination. Misfortune and hope. Cruelty and triumph.
Sissay reflects on a childhood in care, self-expression and Britishness, and in doing so explores the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home. Written with all the lyricism and power you would expect from one of the nation's best-loved poets, this moving, frank and timely memoir is the result of a life spent asking questions, and a celebration of the redemptive power of creativity.
Customer Reviews
All those who work with kids in care need to read this
A sobering eyewitness account from within the care system ... when listening one has to keep remembering that this is very recent .. 1980s. It made me ashamed and angry at the complacency and / or blissful ignorance we have of how looked after children have to live.
A gift of a book
A review cannot do justice to this beautifully written book.