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- Tinder Press
- Tinder Press
Outside, the Sky is Blue: The story of a family told with searing honesty, humour and love
Christina Patterson
Memoirs, Family & health, Coping with death & bereavement
OUTSIDE, THE SKY IS BLUE is a richly detailed memoir of heartbreak and mental illness and sadness, and about finding your way through grief. But at heart, it is a joyful book about being part of a family. 'A bracing, heart-lifting read. Patterson is a superb writer' Observer
'A bracing, heart-lifting read. Patterson is a superb writer' Observer
OUTSIDE, THE SKY IS BLUE is a heart-breaking yet also truly joyful and wise memoir of growing up, of dealing with mental health and illness, and of what it means to be part of a family that, despite everything, is able to laugh and to love.
'A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. The book journeys to dark places but it's too honest and well written to be dispiriting. She perseveres in her quest to understand' Guardian
When Christina Patterson's brother Tom died suddenly, she faced the harrowing task of clearing out his house. Tom had always been the one who held on to the family treasures and memories, but now Christina had to sift through boxes of letters, photos and belongings, not just of Tom's, but of their parents and their older sister, Caroline.
The contents of those boxes tell the story of a young couple who decide to swap a glamorous diplomatic life in Rome for a housing estate in Surrey. But their new suburban, happy life, is increasingly disrupted by Caroline's erratic behaviour. As she is diagnosed with schizophrenia, Tom seeks solace in sport and Christina in a youth club where she hopes to meet boys, but finds God instead. It doesn't help her in her quest for romance.
'A hymn to optimism, and a beacon of unflagging hope' iPaper
'This is a joyful book. Despite the sorrows, there is a determined joy to this tale, a pattern of finding the good despite the bad, of turning to face the sun so the shadows fall behind' Dr Kathryn Mannix
'She writes beautifully - crisp, yet emotional and page-turning. For me, it is something about her clarity and brutal honesty in describing both heartbreak and heart bursting life and love. In the end it is only the love that matters' Julia Samuel, author of Grief Works
Praise for Outside, the Sky is Blue: The story of a family told with searing honesty, humour and love
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A bracing, heart-lifting read. Patterson is a superb writer - part of the redemptive message of this memoir is that beautiful prose can make almost anything bearable. Outside the Sky is Blue is a lesson in generosity, in accommodation, but most of all it's a lesson in resilience - Observer
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Written with savage honesty about grief and sibling rivalry, this book slices deeply. A memoir about family loyalty and gut-wrenching goodbyes but it serves too as a wise guide from someone who has endured more than her share of life's slings and arrows, and has still come out swinging - Sunday Times (Culture)
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A compelling memoir of faith, hope and loss. Her beautifully written and insightful account of a family living with mental and physical ill health - Daily Express
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A hymn to optimism, and a beacon of unflagging hope - iPaper
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A superbly told, heart-buffeting memoir - a powerful account of how we carry the distress that life's blows cause to us; of how we keep sane and carry on; and of how love within a family can endure even the sternest tests - Bookseller, Book of the Month
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A tender, candid, sometimes heartbreaking, ultimately joyful account of family life, overcoming illness and loss, and embracing happiness - Bookanista
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Patterson has poured every ounce of love and compassion she possesses into this compelling memoir - Daily Mirror
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A memoir about the loss of faith and hope. The book journeys to dark places but it's too honest and well written to be dispiriting. She perseveres in her quest to understand - Guardian
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