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Ootlin

The must-read memoir about growing up in the UK care system

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Ootlin

By: Jenni Fagan
Narrated by: Isis Hainsworth
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The government told a story about me before I was born.

Jenni Fagan was property of the state before birth. She drew her first breath in care and by the age of seven, she had lived in fourteen different homes and had her name changed multiple times.

Twenty years after her first attempt to write this powerful memoir, Jenni is finally ready to share her account. Ootlin is a journey through the broken UK care system – it is one of displacement and exclusion, but also of the power of storytelling. It is about the very human act of making meaning from adversity.

'Beautiful, deep, transfixing . . . it will burn a home in your heart' LEMN SISSAY

'Essential reading, life-changing' SAMANTHA MORTON

'An astonishing piece of work' NIALL GRIFFITHS

© Jenni Fagan 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

 Abuse Child Abuse Dysfunctional Families Parenting & Families Politics & Government Relationships Women Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Memoir

Critic reviews

With punchy prose and a harrowing story of staggering resilience and fortitude, Fagan's memoir should be required reading (Claire Fuller)
A phenomenal memoir. I am in awe. It takes exceptional strength to survive the events described in this book and courage, skill and magic to write a life story, especially when this type of story is often marginalised (Amy Liptrot)
A clear-eyed, unsentimental account of the author's childhood being shuffled between foster homes. Her resilience is remarkable. It's a book that really made me want to reach through the pages and help (Douglas Stuart)
An astonishing piece of work. I tore through it, and it through me. I will never, ever forget it (Niall Griffiths)
Ootlin is a 21st century classic from one of our most exceptional writers (Adelle Stripe)
Heartbreaking, magnificent, and incredibly important . . . [Jenni Fagan] is one of the best (Ever Dundas)
A terrifying descent into a childhood of an un-looked-after child, growing up and expected to make sense of a senseless system (Denise Mina)
Here, there suffering becomes chords and strains, refrains and melodies, and we feel the chills that come with being touched by the poetry of pain. But we owe it to Jenni, and the many she will invigorate with her story, not to look away. The push and pull of the prose perfectly mimics the life conveyed in the pages, bringing us close enough to understand why she must turn away. Jenni is composed in her candour, though this is a memoir that goes beyond honesty, and to attempt to describe the soul of this book is to diminish its power (Derek Owusu)
Beautiful, deep, dangerous, transfixing . . . it will burn a home in your heart, it has in mine. Read every word of every page. Turn them carefully. Jenni Fagan is made of fire and spirit. From start to finish I could not put it down. Close the door. Sit down now. Read Ootlin. Read (Lemn Sissay)
This is essential reading, life changing, I couldn't stop reading once I started. All day and all night. The world had to stop whilst I stayed with little Ootlin. The poetic nature with which Jenni has written about her childhood is mind blowing. Unbelievably brave. Beautiful , earth shattering and unforgettable. A truly rare talent (Samantha Morton)
All stars
Most relevant
Beautiful memoir, very well narrated, the writing is poetic despite it being a hard story. I cried and wanted to scream when listening to this book. I don’t think I will ever forget this book.

Hard but powerful

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Wow what a book. A harrowing story, beautifully written. This is a story that needs to be told and will stay in my mind forever. So sad, such strength, truly heartbreaking.
The narrator reads this perfectly and gives the story the feeling and respect it deserves.

A remarkable memoir

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I am so overwhelmed in a good way by how brilliant this book is. A lesson for all of us to never judge or turn a blind eye to the issues in society that are wrong. Thank you for being brave enough to put your story down on paper.

Such an incredible book

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It's hard to conceive of how much courage, strength, determination and artistic and intellectual brilliance it must have taken to create such beauty by revisiting and exposing the grievous failures of a system and human beings. Dr Fagan's experiences in the care system and situations/relationships arising from these are vividly, powerfully rendered in prose, and Isis Hainsworth's narration is compelling.

Soaring, Shining Indictment

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This book held my heart, at times squeezing it so hard I wanted to stop listening.
The courage in the life and writing pushed me on.
Its lessons move me to act. The true measure of the power of art.

Astoundingly good writing

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