Here for the first time is this controversial writer's real childhood and early adulthood. The mixed feelings of an intelligent, sensitive child - talented but tormented; the eventual separation from his family; violence, crime, borstal and finally prison in England. How he turned his life around to become, not only New Zealand's best selling novelist, but also a spokesperson for a large number of underprivileged New Zealanders, a controversial columnist and the initiator of the brilliantly successful Books in Homes schemes is both moving and compelling reading. About the Author Alan Duff, one of New Zealand's best known writers, is the author of four novels, a non-fiction work, a novella and two children's books.