Ootlin

I phenomenal memoir. I am in awe AMY LIPTROT

WINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2025

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non Fiction 2025

Ootlin is proof that there is part of Fagan that is always whole, tapped into the cosmos, looking towards the light Times Literary Supplement

A poetic work, impressionistically evoking harrowing and joyous experiences alike I Paper

Stunning and powerful Scots Magazine

The government told a story about me before I was born.

Jenni Fagan was property of the state before birth. She drew her first breath in care and by the age of seven, she had lived in fourteen different homes and had her name changed multiple times.

Twenty years after her first attempt to write this powerful memoir, Jenni is finally ready to share her account. Ootlin is a journey through the broken UK care system - it is one of displacement and exclusion, but also of the power of storytelling. It is about the very human act of making meaning from adversity.

Beautiful, deep, transfixing ... it will burn a home in your heart Lemn Sissay

Essential reading, life-changing Samantha Morton

Should be required reading Claire Fuller

A book that made me want to reach through the pages and help Douglas Stuart

An astonishing piece of work Niall Griffiths