Kirjahaku

When Janie Ryan is born, she is destined to be the latest in a long line of Aberdeen fishwives. Ahead of her lies a life filled with feckless men, filthy council flats and breadmarge sandwiches. But Janie isn't like the rest of them. She wants a different life. And Janie, born and bred for combat, is ready to fight for it.

From the prize-winning author of Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My MaWinner of the Prix Femina EtrangerLondon, in the frayed heat of summer. Alena is shoplifting shoes when Dave catches her in the act and so begins an unlikely relationship between two people with little in common and everything to lose.But the past is a dark place. And both of them have secrets they’ve no idea how to live with – or leave behind. Yet still they find themselves fighting with all they’ve got for a future together. But is love enough?'Accomplished... Beautiful... Heart-wrenching' Independent on SundayShortlisted for the Prix Femina Prize

"A witty and lively novel set somewhere between the worlds of Roddy Doyle and Irvine Welsh." --William Dalyrymple, The Guardian Reminiscent of early Roddy Doyle, Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma begins with our singular heroine's less than idyllic birth and quickly moves to a spectacular fight that lands Janie and her mother in a local women's shelter. From there it's on to a dodgy council flat and a succession of unsuitable men, including the hard-drinking, drug-dealing, ice-cream-buying Tony Hogan. Kerry Hudson's arrestingly original debut will enthrall readers with Janie's tragicomic and moving story about coming of age in a non-traditional family amid the absurdities of the 1980s and Thatcherite Britain.

‘I've just literally devoured Newborn and absolutely loved it’ Giovanna Fletcher, Happy Mum Happy Baby podcastThe new memoir from Kerry Hudson about her struggle to build a safe, loving home for her baby – the very opposite of the home she grew up in...‘Absorbing’ Irish Times‘Filled with colour’ Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun‘A rallying cry’ HeraldHow do you build a family without a blueprint to work from? Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty. Always on the move, shuttled between the care system and her chaotic mother, she left school at 15 without qualifications. Now a prize-winning writer, she looks back and asks: how do you create a different life for yourself and your family?In Newborn we see how Kerry found love, what it took to decide to start a family of her own and how fragile every step of the journey towards parenthood was. All along the way, she faces obstacles that would test the strongest foundations, from struggles with fertility to being locked down in a Prague maternity hospital to a marriage in crisis. But over and over again, her love, hope, fight – and determination to break patterns and give her son a different life – win through and light her path.PRAISE FOR KERRY HUDSON:‘It’s not just Kerry Hudson’s writing that is vibrant, authentic and true, it’s the person herself, it’s where the writing comes from; a wise and generous heart’ KIT DE WAAL'Hudson’s resilience, grace and humility are staggering. She’s an absolute inspiration’ DOUGLAS STUART‘Kerry Hudson blew me away, opened my eyes’ PHILIPPA PERRY

‘It was always going to be difficult to follow Lowborn, but Kerry Hudson is Kerry Hudson and she has done it – cleverly, honestly, brilliantly’ RODDY DOYLE'Filled with colour: food, Prague, illness, love, the challenges of having a baby in a foreign country and making your own story' AMY LIPTROTIn Newborn, prizewinning writer Kerry Hudson navigates trying to build a nourishing, safe and loving family - without a blueprint to work fromKerry Hudson is celebrated for her emotionally and politically powerful writing about growing up in poverty. Her books and journalism have changed the conversation and touched countless lives.In this new book she asks: what next, after a childhood like hers? What hope is there of creating a different life for herself, let alone future generations? We see how Kerry found love, what it took to decide to start a family of her own and how fragile every step of the journey towards parenthood was. All along the way, she faces obstacles that would test the strongest foundations, from struggles with fertility to being locked down in a Prague maternity hospital to a marriage in crisis. But over and over again, her love, hope, fight -- and determination to break patterns and give her son a different life -- win through and light her path.Newborn is a beautiful, empowering memoir about creating a family in the midst of chaos, and learning new ways to find happiness. It continues the journey Kerry started in her bestselling memoir Lowborn, illuminating her experiences of becoming a mother, reshaping her future and reclaiming her identity.PRAISE FOR KERRY HUDSON:‘It’s not just Kerry Hudson’s writing that is vibrant, authentic and true, it’s the person herself, it’s where the writing comes from; a wise and generous heart’ KIT DE WAAL'Hudson’s resilience, grace and humility are staggering. She’s an absolute inspiration’ DOUGLAS STUART‘Kerry Hudson blew me away, opened my eyes’ PHILIPPA PERRY