The Black Pool

'An unforgettable, freewheeling masterclass' MICHAEL MAGEE, Nero Book Award-winning author of Close to Home 'Funny, nerve-wracking and utterly compelling' COLIN BARRETT, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Wild Houses 'Extraordinary... A writer with a rare gift. I feel changed by it' BELINDA MCKEON, author of Solace 'I was floored by the power and beauty of this book' DONAL RYAN, author of The Queen of Dirt Island 'Simultaneously tender, raw, profound, hilarious and horrible, guiding us through a nightmare into beautiful, hard-won wisdom' LISA MCINERNEY, Women's Prize for Fiction-winning author of The Glorious Heresies Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping thrill-ride through violent, chaotic underworlds. Tracing the roots of an illness through the failures of youth and adolescence and finally back to childhood, it's about all the wrong places where addicts look for transcendence - from work, to relationships, to writing, to anger. The Black Pool shows what happens when everything falls apart. It shows us rock bottom and the start of the journey to the surface from there. It's a memoir shot full of holes and shocking clarities. Towards the end, it achieves something like serenity - something like recovery.