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Love Affair
Love Affair
Oct 10, 2024 2:22 AM

Author:Leslie Kenton

Love Affair

Leslie Kenton was the only child of Violet, a stunning Hitchcock blonde, and Stanley - the legendary jazz giant Stan Kenton. Their story takes place on the road in 1950s America and in the mania of Hollywood - a world of jazz clubs, dance halls and one-nighters, where lives were lived on a razor's edge.

Love Affair takes us beyond the bright lights and glamour into an intense, claustrophobic world of a father and his child. Too closely matched, their shared DNA traps them in a double helix - one strand forged in terror, the other luminous with a shared passion for music, joy and laughter. As the strands become entwined, blood on white tiles obliterates innocence and a forbidden honeymoon brings a terrifying, unbounded freedom. Gradually, as Stanley grapples with alcohol and his personal demons, his actions threaten to destroy the only real, untainted thing in his life: Leslie.

A true story of obsession, tragedy and grace, Love Affair is Leslie Kenton's powerful memoir. At its heart is the complex relationship with her father - a union so powerful it defines all that comes after. As their lives become increasingly entangled, so do the forces of darkness and light that exist within us all, leading to destruction for him and heartbreaking redemption for her.

Reviews

Kenton's composure in describing all this, and the quality of forgiveness that she seems able to bestow...is little short of heroic. As an account of a damaged childhood made good, her memoir is brave and inspiring

—— Daily Mail

Leslie Kenton's determination to ignore the pressures and assumptions of our times and to write her own book in her own way represents a rare kind of bravery

—— Terence Blacker , Independent

In this brave memoir of growing up Leslie reveals how the complex relationship she shared with her father has led to heartbreak and redemption

—— Express

...in a different league than all other 'how to manage as a parent' books.

—— Daily Mail

Burch approaches his task with vigour and pace, exploring the therapeutic failures of doctors over the ages...there is much of interest as the story unfolds

—— Irish Times

Burch leads us through an array of shocking and surprising medical practices

—— Financial Times

Intriguing and informed

—— Tom Whipple , The Times

Twenty-five essay-chapters examine 'cures' such as aspirin and thalidomide, all with a good bedside manner

—— Sunday Telegraph

This is a gripping history of the blundering progress of medicine

—— Christopher Hirst , Independent

A fascinating and irreverent history of medicine and those who've claimed to understand it, written by an NHS doctor with searing intelligence and a lively wit

—— Good Book Guide

More complex - and funny - than one would ever imagine ... It's a candid account of a woman unafraid to reveal the scared, jealous, and immature sides of herself while painting a portrait of her rollicking, fun-loving Irish Catholic parents and brothers who bolster her, and the husband who understands and loves her

—— San Francisco Chronicle

Corrigan infuses her prose with vivacity and humor. She explores that process called growing up, and how it can happen in a defining moment, like a lightening strike, but also how it is illuminated in less dramatic ones, like flickers of heat lightning in a summer sky

—— BookPage
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