booksbytheboats's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Before this book I had never heard of Lemn Sissay. I chose this audiobook because it came up on BorrowBox and I vaguely remember seeing somebody post it on Instagram as a good read so I thought why not. Let’s see what this was all about. Well now Lemn Sissay (who probably now has a fairly decent life!) has a piece of my heart. This book shows in a raw and unfiltered way just how crippled the UK social care service can be and how children aren’t always at the forefront - they think they are but have they really LISTENED?
Lemn Sissay struggled through his childhood feeling unloved, unwanted and unsure of who he was after his mother left him in the UK when she HAD to return to Ethiopia and she wanted him with her… but that got missed as well.
This is a really raw and eye opening book. It was a great listen, narrated for the most part by Lemn himself and I highly recommend.
196books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
aliciae08's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This was…this was a truly beautiful, damning memoir by Lemn Sissay. It outlined just how Sissay was let down in every single way—by the Authority, his foster family and the system as a whole. It isn’t just a narrative account, but includes notes from his file regarding all of the ways the system let him (and others in care) down and then punished him for their own failures.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Racism