Down and Out: Surviving the Homelessness Crisis, by the 2023 Orwell Prize-winning journalist and author...

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Daniel Lavelle

Down and Out

Surviving the Homelessness Crisis, by the 2023 Orwell Prize-winning journalist and author

Daniel Lavelle

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Paperback

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English

Wildfire
09 May 2023

Memoirs; Homelessness; Social welfare & social services; Welfare & benefit systems

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*Winner of the 2023 Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness
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*Winner of an RSL Giles St Aubyn Award for Non-Fiction
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'Part memoir, part howl of fury' GUARDIAN

'Enrich[es]

our impoverished sociological imagination' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

'Raw and compelling' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Shows the human cost of a genuinely Kafka-esque bureaucratic system' NEW STATESMAN

At once a powerful memoir, unflinching polemic and probing investigation into modern homelessness in the UK, by award-winning investigative journalist Daniel Lavelle

Daniel Lavelle left care at the age of nineteen, and experienced homelessness for the first time not long after. So began a life spent navigating social services that were not fit for purpose, leaving Daniel and many like him slipping through the cracks.

In Down and Out, Daniel draws on his own experiences - as well as those of the witty, complex, hopeful individuals he has encountered who have been shunned or forgotten by the state that is supposed to provide for them - in order to shine a powerful light on this dire situation.

Down and Out is a true state-of-the-nation examination of modern homelessness: assessing its significance, its precursors and causes, as well as the role played by government, austerity, charities, and other systems in perpetuating this crisis. Ultimately, it seeks to ask how we as a society might change our practices and attitudes so that, one day, we can bring this injustice to an end.

More praise for Down and Out:

'Ruthless and raw ' DAVID LAMMY, author of TRIBES

'A vital voice . . . A book for every politician, policy maker and reader who wants a fairer and kinder country' FRANCES RYAN, author of CRIPPLED

'Anyone interested in homelessness should read this book' SIMON HATTENSTONE, journalist

'A valuable and damning personal tale of how the system fails our kids' EMILY KENWAY, author of THE TRUTH ABOUT MODERN SLAVERY

By: Daniel Lavelle
Imprint: Wildfire
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 128mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 220g
ISBN: 9781472279125
ISBN 10: 1472279123
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 09 May 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Daniel Lavelle is a freelance feature writer from Manchester. He left care at nineteen and experienced homelessness for the first time not long after. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA in History while he was living in a homeless hostel. He writes regularly on topics such as mental health, homelessness and culture for the Guardian (for whom he co-authored the series 'The Empty Doorway' with Simon Hattenstone) and has written for New Statesman and the Independent. He has an MA in Journalism from Goldsmiths and in 2017 he received the Guardian's Hugo Young award for an opinion piece on his experience of homelessness. 'The Empty Doorway' won Feature of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2019 and was shortlisted for a National Press Award. He lives in London.

Reviews for Down and Out: Surviving the Homelessness Crisis, by the 2023 Orwell Prize-winning journalist and author

Lavelle's ruthless and raw expose fills me with rage, but also with hope - underneath this harrowing story of injustice lies a lyrical longing for a more compassionate and caring future * David Lammy, Labour MP and author of TRIBES * Daniel Lavelle is a vital voice on one of the most pressing scandals facing Britain today. A book for every politician, policy maker and reader who wants a fairer and kinder country * Frances Ryan, author of CRIPPLED * Part memoir, part howl of fury * GUARDIAN * Enrich[es] our impoverished sociological imagination. [Its] case studies are as bleakly memorable as Raymond Carver stories * TLS *