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A Working-Class Family Ages Badly

'Remarkable' The Observer

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A Working-Class Family Ages Badly

By: Juno Roche
Narrated by: Joelle Taylor
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'An incredibly honest tale of survival, escape and resilience' The Observer

'Roche is a charming, unflinchingly honest guide on a journey that's as funny as it is heart-breaking.' JUNO DAWSON

How does an untrained eye recognise the process of dying, when your mind is fixed firmly on living?

A radically honest and uplifting memoir about defying death and learning to live.

Juno Roche was born into a working-class family in London in the sixties, who dabbled in minor crime. For their father, violence and love lived together; for their mother, addiction was the only way to survive. School was a respite, but shortly after beginning their university course Juno was diagnosed with HIV, then a death sentence.

Juno is a survivor; they outlived their diagnosis, got a degree and became an artist. But however hard you try to take the kid out of the family, some scars go too deep; trying to run from AIDS and their childhood threw Juno into dark years of serious drug addiction, addiction often financed by sex work.

Running from home eventually took Juno across the sea to a tiny village in Spain, surrounded by mountains. Only once they found a quiet little house with an olive tree in the garden did Juno start to wonder if they had run too far, and whether they have really been searching for a family all along.

In an incredibly honest and brave book, Juno takes us through the moments of their life: Mum sending Christmas cards containing Valium, drug withdrawal on a River Nile cruise, overcoming their father's violence and finding their dream house in Spain. Showing immense resilience, Juno's memoir is a book about what it means to stay alive.

Emotional, tragic and incredibly funny, A Working-Class Family Ages Badly is an unforgettable must-read memoir for anyone who loves Educated, Deborah Levy and Motherwell.

'Delicate and devastating. Up there with the best of them.' HANNAH LOWE, WINNER OF THE COSTA PRIZE

'Full of heart, wit and charm. I'm obsessed with this book.' Travis Alabanza

'So gripping, I had to make myself slow down to appreciate the quality of the writing. Such a powerful story and so beautifully written.' Paul Burston

'Utterly unique. Nobody can write with warmth and confrontation the way Juno can.' Tom Rasmussen

'Compassionate, dreamlike and deeply moving.' CN Lester

'Should be read by everyone.' Irenosen Okojie

'Juno has always been a literary voice like no one else, scathingly honest and endlessly expansive.' Amelia Abraham©2022 Juno Roche Art & Literature Artists, Architects & Photographers Biographies & Memoirs LGBTQ+ Studies Motherhood Parenting & Families Relationships Funny Survival Feel-Good Memoir
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Critic reviews

Radically honest memoir . . . Roche's story is one of survival and what it means to stay alive
This book reminded me why Juno is one of my favourite writers. Few can write with such fresh analysis, whilst remaining so full of heart, wit and charm. I'm obsessed with this book (Travis Alabanza)
Juno Roche is a sharp-eyed writer who journeys into dark territory with warmth and wit. An important voice for our time. (John McCullough)
'For so many of us who grew up in dysfunctional families, our lives are all about escape, but by telling this incredibly important story, Juno Roche teaches us that our identity is not just about the past or the journey, but a future life built on our own terms and the discovery of a destination we can truly call home' (Natasha Carthew, Writer and Artistic Director Class Festival)
A wonderful, indelible work. Juno Roche's prescient exploration of intergenerational trauma and self-regeneration should be read by everyone. (Irenosen Okojie)
Juno Roche's memoir is a beautiful and important book, testifying to an extraordinary life of enormous difficulty and enormous courage. It is simultaneously an intensely personal account and an insightful, moving commentary on public events, told with anger and humour in equal measure. It exemplifies what good memoir must have - an authentic interior voice and the story of hard-won transformation. Roche's writing about AIDS, particularly the story of Simon, is delicate and devastating. The movement back and forth in time makes the book a compelling page-turner - and yet, I didn't want it to end. A Working-Class Family Ages Badly is not like any memoir I've read before, and it is up there with the best of them. (Hannah Lowe)
In equal parts brutal and beautiful, dark and funny. An incredible story of survival. (Jenny Kleeman)
So gripping, I had to make myself slow down to appreciate the quality of the writing. When I say it's an addictive read, I mean it in the best possible sense. Such a powerful story, and so beautifully written. Bravo, Juno! (Paul Burston)
This is a powerful combination of beautifully evocative writing with many profound and important messages about the society in which we live (Natasha Devon)
Perfect for fans of Shuggie Bain, Roche's story is enormously moving. Roche is a charming, unflinchingly honest, guide on a journey that's as funny as it is heartbreaking. Written with verve and much lyricism. (Juno Dawson)
Juno writes with a daring honesty that makes me feel braver. This is truly a tale of survival. (Cat White)
Juno Roche rips up the notion of memoir and replaces it with something far more bold and exciting. A beautifully written elegy to our shared humanity (Angela Chadwick)
I was completely drawn into Juno's world from the opening pages. A compelling memoir of the complexities of family, and intergenerational trauma made lyrical by the beauty of Juno's writing. This is a must read. (Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah)
All stars
Most relevant
Juno Roche’s writing is exquisite and the stories they tell are everything from hardcore to heartbreaking via wry humour and cinematic prose. Read brilliantly by lesbian poet Joelle Taylor. An audiobook I will listen to again.

Best memoir I’ve ever read

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I have not come across Juno Roche before however I am so very glad I stumbled on this book whilst researching for my next listen. I am no expert however this is definitely a fine example of how memoirs should be written. Juno writes in a sometimes brutally honest style and it shows the passion, if thats the correct word, that has gone into writing her story. So beautifully read by Joelle Taylor, it was as if it was a conversation between the listener and the author.

VERY HONEST

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She has had a very turbulent life. A childhood that's been full of violence and abuse. Yet she has found forgiveness and love within herself for the people that committed these actions against her. Her candid openness around her HIV status, addiction, and her then realisation of her true inner self astounded me. The book was dark in places but there was a lot of hope and acceptance mixed in between the lines. We all have our dark times and fall deep inside ourselves but there is light in the simplest things. We can all find that light what ever it may be. For Juno it's the hills she lives in and finding peace within herself.

Brutally Honest

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