A memoir of the author's own dysfunctional and poverty ridden upbringing, together with a more general depiction of modern Britain in which poverty is as rife as ever and economic inequality is effectively sanctioned by heartless Government policy and inaction. It's a moving story, which starts slowly with more interior monologue than action, but picks up pace in the second half of the book. The personal and political aspects are skilfully interwoven and are likely to invoke sympathy, admiration and anger at injustice in most readers. Well worth reading.