Author:Julia Samuel
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Essential, clever and kind' Alain de Botton
'I am a huge admirer of Julia's work' Elizabeth Day
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In her bestselling follow-up to Grief Works and This Too Shall Pass, much-loved psychotherapist Julia Samuel invites us into her sessions as she explores the relationships that have the power to touch us and hurt us most: those with our family.
Through eight beautifully told case studies, covering a variety of families across multiple generations, she analyses common issues from losing a parent to children leaving home, and from separation to step-relationships. In doing so she shows how much is, in fact, inherited -- and how much can be healed when it is faced together.
Every Family Has A Story provides the tools that will help with this work of improving our relationships. Its twelve touchstones for family well-being show how to communicate effectively, set boundaries, fight productively and allow change.
This is a wise and insightful exploration of modern life that will help us create the families we wish for.
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'Julia Samuel writes with unfailing grace, tenderness and consummate storytelling. Everyone who reads this will learn something profound' Rachel Clarke
'Julia Samuel offers vivid insights in a book for all families... I was utterly drawn in' Kathryn Mannix
'Fascinating... Julia Samuel's compassionate work never fails to inform, comfort and make me think' Pandora Sykes
'A wise and important book, full of insight into the pain and beauty at the heart of family life... I loved it' Clover Stroud
'Julia Samuel is so wise and compassionate. I love every word she writes' Cathy Rentzenbrink
Engaging, informative and very well written
—— Philippa PerryFull of nuggets of wisdom
—— Jackie Annesley , Sunday TimesEngrossing, generous . . . excellent advice worth a whole shelf of textbooks
—— Bel Mooney , Daily MailI am a huge admirer of Julia's work
—— Elizabeth DayA profoundly important and compassionate book for understanding family relationships much better. Highly recommended
—— Liz EarleA spellbinding explanation of microbiology that will help you get to the bottom of health and happiness
—— John Vincent, Co-Founder of LeonEngaging ... [Dark Matter] stands out in revealing the microbiome through the eyes of a clinician who sees each patient not just as a human, but as a human entwined with a complex, dynamic ecosystem
—— New ScientistA gripping undercurrent of forbidden love throughout: the book is scandalous and entertaining
—— The LadyI lost myself so completely in Fran and her family’s woes that I read the whole book in 24 hours rather than the 36 hours it took for everything to unfold. The wedding part was very realistic from the over amorous guests to the women changing into comfy shoes, but this was certainly the most intriguing wedding story I have ever read.
Fast paced and absorbing, I felt like I was one of the guests listening in to something I shouldn’t. A very juicy read!
READER RECOMMENDED: A cleverly written story, thought-provoking and easy to identify with.
—— Good HousekeepingWritten in almost real time - no easy feat - Cohen combines deft plotting with smart pyschological insight. A writer clued up in the dark realms of grown-up relationships
—— IndependentAt once entertaining yet deliciously edgy too. I read it in a sitting
—— Freya NorthI was challenged, comforted, educated and nourished by this book ... It is the single most powerful, life-changing, heartachingly healing thing I have been given ... The kind of book we must ensure every one of us reads
—— Kerri ní DochartaighA beautiful, intelligent book that is as tender and moving as it is demanding and urgent. There is something insightful and original in the way Lucy Jones seamlessly combines the analytical with the emotional, and it is an absolutely essential new addition to the literature of mothering and parenthood
—— Clover StroudThis book should be a must-read for pretty much everyone. We don't talk about the hidden realities of the biological, social and psychological effects of matrescence nearly enough. Thank you, Lucy Jones, for changing that
—— Dr Jodi PawluskiFascinating
—— Henry Mance (Twitter)Dazzling... Matrescence cements Jones' place as one of the most talented nonfiction writers we have. It really is *astonishingly* good
—— Oli Franklin-Wallis (Twitter)Matrescence is going to set mothers’ worlds alight. Finally, someone has properly expressed what the process of becoming a mother does to women: their sense of self and their brains. We all owe her a debt because it wasn’t just in our heads
—— Emma Barnett , RedJones writes like a novelist, capturing wild swings of emotion, doubt, the adoration of a new baby, and (always) the tension between what she thinks is expected of her and the pressure of her own mixed-up feelings
—— Daily MailMatrescence is a wild and beautiful book, a blend of memoir, science, psychoanalytical thinking and nature writing with a poetic sensibility and a strong sense of political purpose
—— New Statesman *Best Books of the Summer*Engaging and sensitive … Matrescence is an important work
—— Naomi Stadlen , JUNO MagazineI was challenged, comforted, educated, nourished, soothed and reassured by this book. Almost three years into my own matrescence, this book is the single most powerful, life-changing, heartachingly healing thing I have been given. For it is, first and foremost, a gift. To have journeyed , and still be journeying, through this wild, raw, many coloured land of such unknowns, and to share that journey-the pain and the joy; the grief and love; the anxiety and the hope - in this way is nothing short of grace. This book is the kind of book we must ensure every one of us reads; every single person sharing this earth side by side with our kin of every form. For, as Lucy shows us so tenderly and luminously; we are more finely interwoven than we've been led to believe; more animal than we might ordinarily take ourselves for. Certain experiences change us, bring us closer to the blood and shit and milk and bone. Matrescence holds the power to carry us back to ourselves, to the rituals and community from which we came; the caregivers we all hold the seed within us to become- and Lucy Jones is the person who should have written it. I am so glad she did . She has given us mammals such a gift, one that will save lives
—— Kerri ní DochartaighFrom grief to anger to full-throttled joy, Amy Key hits every note of feeling with perfect pitch... A brave and brilliant exploration of how one woman lives both alone and alongside romance. An absolutely gorgeous work.
—— Heather Christle, author of The Crying BookArrangements in Blue is as bold as it is beautiful. Key is not afraid to go to the depths of her longings, but in doing so she creates something new: a space for the voice of solitude, one that is full of heart and creativity for a personal intimacy with home, friends and the self. If a book can be a loving companion, this is it.
—— Lily Dunn, author of Sins of my FatherFilled with lyrical turns of phrase, this insightful take on living solo will appeal to poets, dreamers and anyone marching to the beat of their own drum. It's a lush and moving memoir.
—— Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review*This memoir may do for you what Blue has done for her Key, putting your unexpressed feelings into beautiful words and helping you feel connected to the world.
—— CrackKey charts women's lives with a savage delicacy.
—— Olivia Laing'A writer of a rare and strange magic.'
—— Sarah Perry'I love Amy Key.'
—— Lauren Laverne'A beautiful read.'
—— Amy Liptrot'If you read one thing this weekend make it Amy Key's astonishing essay on Joni Mitchell's Blue, love and love's absence.'
—— Sophie Mackintosh