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Bloomsbury will publish a “joyful” memoir, Nothing Ordinary: A Still Life, by debut author Josie George.
Nothing Ordinary explores the life of George, a 36-year old writer and single parent, who from a young age has lived with chronic pain and disability, unable to take part in the competitive, mainstream world. “She lives quietly with her young son on a Midlands estate, rarely able to leave her home,” Bloomsbury said. “Divided into four sections, one for each season, Nothing Ordinary explores the deep and beautiful possibilities inherent in a life of quiet endurance and slowness – a life that might not have gone as planned, but which is rich and rewarding nonetheless, even when society tells you that are not particularly valuable.”
Senior commissioning editor Alexa von Hirschberg bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Nothing Ordinary: A Still Life from Jenny Hewson at RCW. Bloomsbury will publish it in 2020.
Von Hirschberg said the author “has crafted a wise, beautiful memoir full of patient wisdom”. She added: “Hers is a voice and perspective we never hear – and what a joy to have it so profoundly, intelligently conveyed here. I was so moved by the beauty of her writing and the clarity of her thoughts. In our increasingly manic lives this book has the potential to become a talisman of sorts."
George, who is based in Staffordshire, said: “It has taken many years of patient, private writing to find my voice and the confidence to put something like this out into the world, but now I'm here, I am so ready and thankful for the chance to share my days and my thoughts. My hope is that this will be a book both healing and challenging, full of all the beauty and complexity of a whole human life, and that it might act as a warm companion to people in these increasingly testing and confusing times.”