Handstands In The Dark: A True Story of Growing Up and Survival

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Description

The extraordinary memoir of Janey Godley, one of the UK's most popular comedians, telling her story of growing up amidst the violence on Glasgow's tough East End in her inimitable voice. Born in the tough East End of Glasgow and married into one of the city's most notorious criminal families, Janey Godley's young life was far from ordinary. From the grim and far-from-swinging 60s, to the discos of the 70s, to the tidal wave of heroin addiction which engulfed Glasgow's East End during the 1980s, Janey was witness to an extraordinary underworld - as well as religious sectarianism, abject poverty and a frightening family of in-laws. Throughout it all, her indomitable spirit - and her vivid sense of humour - kept her alive. A vivid, intimate and darkly funny account of a life less ordinary, Handstands in the Dark tells the story of how one girl escaped a chaotic family and became one of the UK's most popular comedic talents.

Reviews

An inspirational book * Daily Mail *
A remarkably engaging and fluently written memoir -- Stephanie Merritt * The Observer *
Genuinely compelling and very brave * Glasgow Herald *
If the school of hard knocks handed out degrees, Janey Godley would have a PH by now... a harrowing memoir... Godley finds the irony and absurdity in the most godforsaken situations, yet unlike a lot of comics she's brave and honest enough to reveal her innermost emotions, and it's this sincerity that gives her streetwise revelations such bite * The Guardian *
Powerful... passionate... poignant... a rising star of stand-up * The Scotsman *

Author Bio

Janey Godley is an award-winning comedian from Glasgow and something very different on the comedy circuit. She has performed stand-up all over the world and had her first play performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2003. This is her first book.