Books

All the times you were not there

A powerful coming-of-age memoir about finding faith and finding yourself when everything around you is falling apart, set against the background of 90s Essex, elite sport and drug addiction.

“A beautiful and courageous memoir” Chine McDonald, Director of Theos

This is a story about growing up in an ordinary East End family. It’s a story about elite sport and illegal raves. It’s about drug addiction, steroid abuse and how everything you thought you ever wanted can end up nearly killing you. It’s about Essex, XR3is and having a world champion powerlifter for a dad. This is a story about finding faith and finding yourself when everything around you is falling apart. 

“Honest and raw. Heartbreaking, yet full of hope” Al Gordon, leader of SAINT Hackney

All the Days You Were Not There is my story. My family are mostly just like yours – except maybe not exactly. Most other kids didn’t open the door every Friday night to a pack of doormen in tuxedos, or plan holidays around training schedules. Most other families didn’t have chest freezers in the garage filled solely with whole chickens or entertain a near-constant stream of super-sized humans who broke the dining chairs as they sat down to dinner. But then again, most other kids didn’t have a world champion powerlifter for a dad. And although sometimes I wondered if I’d ever get a date because of it, most of the time, that was a good thing. Until suddenly, one day, it wasn’t. 

“A story for anyone who’s ever wondered if hope could reach the hardest places” Adrienne Camp, author and musician

All the Days You Were Not There is a powerful memoir about a girl who thinks nothing can ever go wrong. It’s about an ordinary family, elite sport and how everything you thought you ever wanted can end up nearly killing you. It’s about growing up under the shadow of a drug addiction that no one saw coming, finding faith and holding onto hope that good can come from even the most painful of circumstances.     

“An unmissable no-holds-barred memoir; I couldn’t put it down” Emma Timms, Author