A boy runs across a busy road.
His father smacks him.
A passer-by intervenes ...

When Billy Wright runs across a busy road, his world is altered irreversibly, even though he doesn't realise it at the time.
Because a passer-by has stopped to watch the scene. She has seen Billy's father catch up with him and smack him. Within an hour she has informed social services, plunging the family into a living nightmare which begins with a social worker's visit and escalates through a series of misunderstandings until the family is threatened to its core.
What I Did is a powerful novel about the unseen consequences of a split second decision, about a childhood interrupted and the lengths we go to to protect the ones we love. It is frequently heartbreaking, blackly funny, and utterly compelling.

The story of a father accused of child abuse, seen through the eyes of his six-year-old son.

About the Author

Christopher Wakling has worked as a teacher, lawyer and travel writer. Educated at Oxford, he now lives in Bristol with his wife and children.

Reviews
Gripping, hilarious and tender, this is, without doubt, one of the books of the year * Daily Mail *
The novel brilliantly captures parent-child relations in the raw and the emotions that even the most experienced social worker can't tame * Independent *
An amusing and unsettling story * Saturday Guardian *
This is family life at its most believable: warm and messy, bored and raging. WHAT I DID is every parent's nightmare, but will make you burst out laughing too. I loved it. * Emma Donoghue, author of ROOM *
I loved it! Staggeringly good. Terrifyingly good * Lisa Jewell *
Hugely impressive, gripping, funny and thought provoking * Emily Barr *
Excellent . . . Dark but uplifting * Alex Preston *
[A] fine, challenging novel * Mail on Sunday *



Book Information
ISBN 9781848546165
Author Christopher Wakling
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint John Murray Publishers Ltd
Publisher John Murray Press
Weight(grams) 379g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 155mm * 22mm