Customer Reviews
Honesty personified. - By: Bobby Smith, 29 Oct 2008 
If you like searing emotion &in your face honesty, then this is the book for you. After watching Mr Madeley on the telly, over the last few years, one is struck, immediately, at how his voice comes to mind as you read this book - a sure sign of its authenticity. Relationships between children & parents are often a never ending war of attrition - with a winner,in many cases, not emerging until one has left the family home. All aspects of family life are includedin this heart rending autobiography - some good (his genuine love for Judy's children), some bad (his own upbringing). Whatever the subject, though, Mr Madeley brings it to lifein his own trademark fashion. The result is an entertaining & thought provoking read. This is the best book on family life I have read since I finished One Love Two Colours: The unlikely marriage of a Punk Rocker & his African Queen, by Margaret Oshindele - another book that dealt with the barbed subject of family relations, albeit with race playing a part as well. In short, this is a book that should be purchased by anyonein the parenthood 'game'.
A remarkable true story, movingly told - By: BookNut, 20 Oct 2008 I have been a fan of Richard's TV work for a long time, but i never knew a) what an amazing family history Richard has & b) how well he can write. The book opens with the story of Richard's grandfather when a child, waking up to find he has been abandoned by his whole family, who have moved to Canada to start a new life without him. It's a heartbreaking tale & like so many of the chaptersin this book, it almost defies belief. The book is packed with wonderful anecdotes & stories from the past generations of Richard's family all toldin that familiar, honest & really engaging way that you expect from Richard. I couldnt put it down & have already recommended to just about everyone i happen to meet!
