Lesley Pearse’s extraordinary life story The Long and Winding Road is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

One of the world’s bestselling storytellers, Lesley Pearse writes brilliantly about survivors. Why? Because she is one herself.

In this captivating memoir, the author of Betrayal and The House Across the Street charts the dramatic events of her life with endless insight and hope.

Pearse didn’t publish her first novel until she was 48. Now she has sold over ten million books around the world and is a constant presence on the bestseller chart.

A writer of heart-stopping stories, Pearse’s books are filled with heroines struggling to make it in a difficult world. Yet this description could apply to Pearse herself. In this, her first ever autobiography, she tells of growing up in an orphanage after her mother’s death, her racy twenties in London during the swinging sixties and working as a bunny girl and dressmaker.

Packed full of Lesley’s signature warmth, wit and poignancy, this is the story of a woman and a writer fighting against the odds to achieve her dreams.

About the book

Born during the Second World War, Pearse’s innocence came to an abrupt end when a neighbour found her, aged three, coatless in the snow. The mother she’d been unable to wake had been dead for days. Sent to an orphanage, Pearse soon learned adults couldn’t always be trusted.

As a teenager in the swinging sixties, she took herself to London. Here, the second great tragedy of her life occurred. Falling pregnant, she was sent to a mother and baby home, and watched helplessly as her newborn was taken from her.

But like so many of her generation, Pearse had to carry on. She was, after all, a true survivor. Marriage and children followed – and all the while she nurtured a dream: to be a writer. Yet it wasn’t until at the age of 48 that her stories – of women struggling in a difficult world – found a publisher, and the bestseller lists beckoned.

As heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, Lesley’s story really is a Long and Winding Road, with surprises and uplifting hope around every corner.

Categories International Non-fiction

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