A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023: BIOGRAPHY

This Ragged Grace tells the story of Octavia's journey through recovery from alcohol addiction, and the parallel story of her father's descent into Alzheimer's. Looking back over this time, each of the seven chapters explores the feelings and experiences of the corresponding year of her recovery, tracing the shift in emotion and understanding that comes with the deepening connection to this new way of life. Over the course of this seven-year period, life continues to unfold. Paths are abandoned, people fall ill, waters get choppy, seemingly impossible things are navigated without the old fixes.

As Octavia moves between London, the island of Stromboli, New York, Cornwall and Margate, each place offers something new but ultimately always delivers the same message: that wherever you go, you take yourself with you.

About the Author

Octavia Bright is a writer and broadcaster. She co-hosted Literary Friction, the literary podcast and NTS Radio show, with Carrie Plitt. She has also presented programmes for BBC R4 including Open Book, and hosts literary events for bookshops, publishers and festivals - such as Cheltenham Literature Festival and events for The Southbank Centre. Her writing has been published in a number of magazines including the White Review, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Wasafiri, Somesuch Stories and the Sunday Times, amongst others. She has a PhD from UCL where she wrote about hysteria and desire in Spanish cinema.

@octaviabright_ | octavia.bright

Reviews
An intimate, raw, empathetic story of loss, recovery, love and human fragility. This Ragged Grace is a beautifully written and intricately observed masterpiece of a memoir -- DOLLY ALDERTON
An extraordinary, electrifying book about loss, chaos, addiction and death, and the wild work of staying tender in the face of it -- OLIVIA LAING
The intelligence of the writing is a kind of grace in itself - light and deep and beautiful -- DEBORAH LEVY
A beautifully written and intellectual account of a woman coming to terms with herself . . . Heartbreakingly tender . . . Her sensitivity to the world is what makes the writing so beautiful and, ultimately, hopeful. Death hovers on every page and yet this book is full of life * * The Times * *
This Ragged Grace is smart and tender, and honest in that raw way that gets you at the back of your throat. It is slowly revealing of the world, and an avalanche of feeling, all at the same time. A towering act of grace, in fact -- EMILIE PINE
The tension between what we remember and what we forget is at the core of this evocative memoir . . . Regular listeners of Literary Friction, the podcast that Bright co-hosts, will be familiar with her intelligent yet deeply felt style. A lover of art as well as literature, she uses the works of Louise Bourgeois and Sigmund Freud to trace her story of healing . . . immensely poignant * * New Statesman * *
How lucky we are that Octavia Bright has written this book, full of rich, subtle, hard-won, beautifully woven wisdom and love. Read this book and carry its light with you forever -- DAMIAN LE BAS
This Ragged Grace is a courageous work, filled with a deep tenderness and generosity and authenticity. The voice of Octavia Bright stays with me, it is honest, intricate, raw and real. This Ragged Grace is so beautiful, so bold and so Bright -- SALENA GODDEN
Bright transforms her and her father's story into something not just shapely and solid, but beautiful and moving, too * * Prospect * *
This Ragged Grace examines the fragility of the self in exquisite detail. Generous, compelling, poignant and ultimately life affirming; Bright has managed to capture the complexity of being human -- HEIDI JAMES
Literary, art and feminist history are woven throughout this searing book. Imbued with wit and insight, it will make you think about the risks you take, and the mysterious forces that push us all to seek out danger at times * * Stylist * *
A truly enlightening read: poetic, courageous and surprising. Beautiful, intelligent prose and such a brave journey into art, family and the deep structures of an addictive personality. On top of that This Ragged Grace is a love letter to the sea and the wisdom we share with it. I loved it -- DORTHE NORS
I devoured Octavia Bright's memoir . . . both poetic and robust * * RUSSH * *
An intellectually astute and open-hearted account of a life-turned-work-of-art, which draws its reader into conversation with our own attempts at renewal -- ELLENA SAVAGE



Book Information
ISBN 9781838857462
Author Octavia Bright
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 373g
Dimensions(mm) 220mm * 144mm * 26mm