{"product_id":"a-bit-of-a-stretch-motherwell-a-girlhood-2-book-memoir-set","title":"A Bit of a Stretch \u0026 Motherwell: A Girlhood 2 Books Collection Set - Non Fiction - Mixed Format","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nA Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner by Chris Atkins\u003cbr\u003e\nMotherwell: A Girlhood by Deborah Orr\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mixed Format (Paperback \u0026amp; Hardback)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781838950170 (A Bit of a Stretch, Paperback) \/ 9781474611459 (Motherwell, Hardback)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Atlantic Books \/ Weidenfeld \u0026amp; Nicolson (W\u0026amp;N)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAge Range:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adult\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis two-book collection brings together a pair of acclaimed memoirs about confinement of very different kinds. Chris Atkins' A Bit of a Stretch is a darkly funny, unflinching diary of life inside HMP Wandsworth, while Deborah Orr's Motherwell: A Girlhood is a luminous account of growing up in a Scottish steel town under the shadow of a complicated mother. Together they offer powerful true-life storytelling, sharp social observation, and moving personal history in one bookshelf-worthy set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nDocumentary-maker Chris Atkins turns the lens on himself in A Bit of a Stretch, chronicling the year he spent in HMP Wandsworth after a financing scheme for one of his films went wrong. He records the everyday absurdities and injustices of the British prison system with journalistic precision and dark, disarming humour, from the strange economics of prison life to the shockingly casual availability of drugs compared with basic medication. It became a Sunday Times bestseller, praised for exposing a system in crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeborah Orr's Motherwell: A Girlhood, published shortly before her death in 2019, is an equally candid but very different memoir. Orr grew up in the steel town of Motherwell in the 1970s, in a house dominated by her fierce, complicated mother Win. Leaving at almost eighteen for university became a decision that shaped the rest of her life, fuelling years of guilt, love and resentment. Written with the wit and intelligence that made Orr one of Britain's most admired columnists, it is a tender, unsentimental portrait of family, class and the pull of home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Benefits\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo celebrated memoirs in one great-value set\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExplores confinement from two angles: prison walls and family ties\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWritten by two respected British writers and journalists\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand new copies, ideal for gifting to memoir and true-life readers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePerfect for book clubs and fans of contemporary social nonfiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA thoughtful addition to any adult memoir or biography collection\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Authors\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nChris Atkins is a British documentary-maker and journalist whose films include Taking Liberties and Starsuckers. He was imprisoned in 2016 after a tax scheme used to fund one of his documentaries collapsed, an experience that inspired A Bit of a Stretch. Deborah Orr (1962–2019) was one of Britain's most celebrated newspaper columnists, writing for The Guardian and The Independent. Motherwell: A Girlhood, her only book, was completed shortly before her death and published to critical acclaim.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Memoir Collection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nHonest, sharply observed and unafraid of difficult truths, these two memoirs pair brilliantly, offering a compelling look at institutions, families, and different ways of understanding freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: Cover design may vary slightly from the image shown; you will receive the current UK edition with UK ISBN as listed.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Various Authors","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56488316535166,"sku":"PLD17926","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/a-bit-of-a-stretch-motherwell-a-girlhood-2-book-set-front-cover.jpg?v=1784402926","url":"https:\/\/www.letsbuybooks.com\/products\/a-bit-of-a-stretch-motherwell-a-girlhood-2-book-memoir-set","provider":"Lets Buy Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}