{"title":"Brittany Means","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrittany Means crafts compelling narratives that blend personal history with cultural insight. Her work, including titles like \u003cem\u003eHell If We Don't Change Our Ways\u003c\/em\u003e, explores themes of identity, resilience, and the complexities of contemporary life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect memoirs rich with emotional depth and sharp observation, offering both intimate reflection and broader social commentary. Means’s writing invites contemplation on the forces that shape our stories and the power of change.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hell-if-we-dont-change-our-ways-by-brittany-means-9781958506554","title":"Hell If We Don't Change Our Ways","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePEOPLE\u003c\/i\u003e magazine pick, Best Books Fall 2023: \"A breathtaking memoir about surviving a horrifying childhood; Means . . . transforms memories . . . into a work of art.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStarred review from \u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e: \"This book is an outstanding debut . . . A harrowing and soulful memoir to be read, savoured, and reread.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Brittany Means has pieced together the shards of a devastating childhood in this powerful memoir. It's gut-wrenching but at the same time triumphant, harrowing yet exquisitely told. \u003ci\u003eHell If We Don't Change Our Ways\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of survival that left me choked up and cheering.\" \u003cbr\u003eJeannette Walls, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Glass Castle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"The book's lasting impact might be what it demands of the memoir genre. Brittany Means has, at once, created the most readable and the most psychologically rigorous book I've read in decades. I needed the reminder that art can do this.\" \u003cbr\u003eKiese Laymon, author of \u003ci\u003eHeavy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"I can't write a story about myself as the sad, quiet child of two drug addicts. That's not how it was, even when it was. To me, sleeping in the car was normal. Better, it was comfy and fun. I loved my bed made of clothes inside a trash bag that I sank into slowly like Uncle Fester from the \u003c\/i\u003eAddams Family\u003ci\u003e movie. . . . I loved the motels and their swimming pools and trashy daytime TV channels. . . . Nobody could tell us what to do.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBrittany Means's childhood was a blur of highways and traumas that collapsed any effort to track time. Riding shotgun as her mother struggled to escape abusive relationships, Brittany didn't care where they were going - to a roadside midwestern motel, a shelter, or The Barn in Indiana, the cluttered mansion her Pentecostal grandparents called home - as long as they were together. But every so often, her mum would surprise her - and leave.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs Brittany grew older and questioned her own complicated relationships and the poverty, abuse, and instability that enveloped her, she began to recognise that hell wasn't only the place she read about in the Bible; it was the cycle of violence that entrapped her family. Through footholds such as horror movies, neuropsychology, and strong bonds, Brittany makes sense of this cycle and finds a way to leave it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile untangling the web of her most painful memories, Brittany crafts a tale of self-preservation, resilience, and hope with a unique narrative style - a sparkling example of the human ability to withstand the most horrific experiences and still thrive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47470771699948,"sku":"9781958506554","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781958506554-hell-if-we-don-t-change-our-ways.jpg?v=1775226862"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/brittany-means.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}