Just Sayin': My Life In Words

by Malorie Blackman

'It's very candid, and movingly so.... Not only in Blackman a grafter- even more, and in the face of more, than we already knew. She's someone with whom you do not mess. Good on her. She's earned it' The TelegraphMalorie Blackman is one of Britain's best and most beloved children's authors, the landmark Noughts & Crosses series included amongst her many books. Her journey to becoming a writer was a long one, but throughout it all she retained a sense of wonder and humour.Before her BAFTA award wins, her OBE and appointment as Children's Laureate in 2013, Malorie was a young girl from South London who fell in love with books and found a home in her local library and a world of words at her fingertips. From embracing her alternative way of seeing the world and all its fascinating differences and possibilities; to her desire to share that passion with others by becoming an English teacher but being told no by her careers advisor because of her race; to the doctor who told her she would be dead by thirty when she was diagnosed with sickle cell, and the eighty plus rejection letters she received from publishers before her first ever children's book was published. Her life's journey - has been an eventful one - marked by trauma, trials, and triumph, yet in spite of all the many setbacks in her life, she held fastidiously on to her dream of becoming a writer.Malorie charts her life not in a succinct order of events, but against the principles which have motivated her journey and reasons for becoming a writer - wonder, loss, anger, perseverance, representation, and love. Each tenet has played a unique role in inspiring her writing, her deep resolve and infectious zest for life.Through this lens of extraordinary experiences Malorie offers insight into the nature of growing up in post-war Britain, why we must protect the arts, the fraught navigation of our healthcare system, and surviving structural and societal racism.Funny, frank, and full of life lessons, Just Sayin' is the deeply personal and vividly compelling story of a natural storyteller, her incredible life which defied expectations and inspired a generation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography, Autobiography, Book Club, Writing

273 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2024

About the author

An award-winning children's author, Malorie Blackman was honoured with an OBE in 2008. Her work has been adapted for TV and stage.

More information available at:
Myspace
British Council: Contemporary Authors
British Council: Encompass Culture
Channel 4 Learning: Book Box

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only read a couple of Malorie Blackman's books so far, and have enjoyed them, especially "Pig-heart boy". I had planned on leaving this autobiography until I had read a few more, but I had a glance at the first page and before I knew it I had read half the book. I love her way of writing, and the way she describes her life and career was both interesting and inspiring.

I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed her novels, or any aspiring writer, especially one wanting to write childrens literature.

This ended up being one of my favourite reads of 2022, so I am glad I didn't delay it too long!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars.

[Fern A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved listening to the audiobook of this! Definitely deserves more than five stars. Such an encouraging, interesting and inspirational read by one of my favourite authors as a tween/young teenager.

[Katy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

malorie writes with such hope, her determination and perseverance emanate from each page! loved this and love her, very tempted to read the noughts and crosses series again now!

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather inspiring, and a huge insight.

I've loved many of Blackman's books, and not really know a thing about her life. So much of what she's written now makes more sense in the context of her experiences.

This was a very interesting autobiography, and hugely in-depth into the life of someone Black, female and part of a generation living through a period of enormous social and cultural change - and prejudice.

The only thing I didn't like about this was the way the book was structured, as Blackman takes us through her life thematically rather than sequentially. So a future husband makes an appearance then disappears for a hundred pages, then we see their meeting/dating period. A few things are covered more than once, so it felt a little 'bitty'. Maybe it's just me that likes to see a life covered in order.

Through a poverty-riddled adolescence, through first jobs and educational experiences (I was cringing and angry at what a careers adviser had to say), to eventual discovery and d*mned hard work towards a dream, Malorie shows that what you want doesn't just drop into your lap. She's worked hard to learn, to become a master of her craft, to hone skills and earn a reputation and success.

Blackman broke ground I never knew about. Which I feel ashamed of really. She's a self-made success who's fought for recognition despite health problems, racism, poverty. She's found love and is now a beacon and model for new generations.

I'm glad to read her story.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very interesting to read this book after reading one of her novels when I was younger. The prose here is as heavy as the experiences she went through. The particular combination of things she went though, as she says, made her ready for this career path. The homelessness, poverty, racism, prejudice, health problems, the pressure to do things in a shorter timeline, so much that she went through that informed her (amazing and wonderful) work

The only criticism I have is that I would have liked to have learned more about her relationship with her husband as it sounded especially lovely and inspiring.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

was expecting more, loved the audiobook but the timeline I found jumped a little bit which made it confusing

[Connor O'Sullivan-Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 but malorie deserves the 5
This woman has been through so much but has persevered and thrived

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malorie is just a couple of years younger than me, so I remember how things were for black kids in the 60’s and 70’s. I admire her tenacity, courage and tenacity. What a beautiful soul! I wish I could give her a huge hug, both now and in the past.

[Des · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make my aunty the prime minister I’m being so fr

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would have been great to read, but having this read by Malorie Blackman herself was the icing on an already excellent cake. I remember reading Malorie's books as a kid in the 90s and her playing a key role in my "wow! Books can be FUN" awakening, after the sheer indifference I felt towards the Enid Blyton-esque books elsewhere. Then last year I went to the British Library exhibition on her life and work and it brought me right back to reading her books, so I knew I had to get my hands on this autobiography. She covers such a wide range of topics and experience, but key throughout is what a determined, thoughtful and engaging woman she is, even in facing hardships and boy has she experienced more than her fair share. An incredible book by an incredible woman, I really need to read Noughts and Crosses now, it's been sat on my TBR for far too long. A delightful start to my reading year.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever she writes grips me and speaks to my heart. What a wonderful gift she has

[tejal · Rating 5 out of 5]

uplifting, inspiring and like a warm hug from a favourite auntie this autobiography is brilliant!

[Gill Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bits will make you angry, others cry. But it is a totally inspiring read.

[Ella Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malorie Blackman's wit, humour, passion and determination shines off the pages of her autobiography. Her life and outlook is an inspiration to us all, and I want to go back and read her books all over again knowing how much of her life she dedicated and put into becoming a published author with integrity and purpose.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening and optimism-inducing peek into the life of one of my favourite childhood authors.

[Tiana Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malorie Blackman has been one of my favourite writers for the past two years now. I consumed her Noughts and Crosses series like it was oxygen and I couldn't get enough, reading book after book after book. I would even go so far as to say that this series is a classic and will go down in history as a series of classics for many future generations, our drama department even teaches this series, which shows that it also holds academic and artistic value beyond the books themselves and well into the classroom. The way she brings racism to the table in her stories and the way she unpicks and challenges systematic and institutional racism in these series by flipping the concept of racism on its head can only be admired. She deals with the nuances of racism, discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, and identity (what is it to be British?) in such a blunt and yet eloquent way makes her writing all that more impressive Malorie clearly writes from experience and wisdom, and so when I had the opportunity to read her autobiography ' Just sayin' - My Life in words' I needed to read it. I needed to understand the experiences and mind of someone who writes such amazing and powerful literature and is valued as one of Britain's greatest writers and a holder of an OBE due to her contribution to literature.

This book follows Malories roots from migrant parents arriving in the UK from Barbados as part of the Windrush generations, dealing with their experiences and treatment as they tried to make a home for themselves in South London. She then talks about her own experiences of being raised in London, the good the bad and the worse, in the forms of racism and bigotry that she herself experienced. She discusses her difficulties at school with teachers who tried to stunt her academic growth, labelling her and putting her in a box, limiting her opportunities, and trying to squash her dreams. She was prevented from studying literature at university, which angers me greatly and reminds me of my own indigenous experiences with university in New Zealand and the difficulties I faced based on racial stereotyping. Yet, she made it, she found a way to her dreams and she has been writing books for over 30 years now, and with great success. Malorie is a role model. She is the benchmark for success as a woman but more importantly as a black woman in the UK where it it isn't so easy to be a successful black woman. I highly recommend reading this book!

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. Agree so strongly with so much of what Blackman says, particularly about children's access to education, representation, the arts, etc. I knew very little about her so it was really interesting to discover more about her life, particularly the insights into her writing. I've not really explored her fiction so will he picking up Noughts and Crosses soon to start dabbling! My only critique is that sometimes it was a smidge confusing being given info in a non-chronological format. Because she had spoken about her husband earlier focusing on more recent history, when she then went back in time later and discussed the start of their relationship I got confused and was like "why is she kissing this random man when she's already married?" My fault probably for working while listening to the audiobook lmao!

[Jodie Boast · Rating 5 out of 5]

'We writers are life vampires. We draw on real-life negative and positive experiences to write the truth into fiction.'

Malorie Blackman. My favourite childhood author, still one of my favourite authors now AND one of my most read authors. I found it so insightful to find out more about the author I have loved for years and how her past has shaped her into who she is today and her writing. I enjoyed reading and listening about her story and past and how her difficult times and pain shaped her writing and motivated her to keep going.

I am not going to rate this memoir but I thought it was beautifully written and very interesting. Thankyou Malorie for letting us have this little piece of your past.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful account of a remarkable life. Malorie Blackman tells her story, in her witty, forthright way, of a childhood lit up by books and films, but also of the lessons learnt growing up in poverty and having to deal with racism and misogyny; and of being driven to pursue her dream of becoming an author by fierce creative ambition, a passion for storytelling, and an unnecessarily acute awareness of her own mortality. A brilliant advocate for social justice, access to the arts and representation in literature, and an amazing writer.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I feel weird rating a memoir - this is someone's actual life and feelings on a page, it feels strange to turn that into numbers. However I've gone with 5 because anyone whose read any of MB's books (or is going to) should read this!

I enjoyed the mixture of prose and poetry, and the scattered, non chronological order of things. It all wound together to create a clear, fascinating and touching picture of one of my favourite writers ever.

[Chris Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this. It is an endearing, lively, engaging and very well written account and I urge anyone who has not read it to do so! You do not have to be fan of Malorie Blackman's writing to enjoy this book, although I am one of her legion of faithful readers, it is well worth reading and challenges all who do so to think about the world and their place and their words and their actions within it - without ever being preachy, just sayin it as it is.

[Sinéad Wylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malorie Blackman is one of my biggest role models [and one of the reasons I fell in love with my husband - fun fact 😂] so I knew I needed to read her memoir. She has lived such an interesting life. I laughed and cried multiple times through this book. I also found it really inspirational and I think some of her suggestions to the government need to be taken on board. I also found some of her childhood super relatable, I used to take my lunch to the library as well and spend hours there <3 I loved how many of her stories related to books she has written [especially Noughts and Crosses] and how she never gave up to become a published author is so inspriational <3 loved this!

5 stars

[Phil Aldis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible account of a vastly accomplished author. The obstacles she had to overcome would have defeated most aspiring authors. Sadly many of these obstacles were from individuals and societal racism. Racism so casual it was not just normalised but expected.Despite this she through determination and talent succeeded where others would have failed or given up.

[Onyeka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m still smiling; I really enjoyed this.

“Being Black in the UK, in a public-facing role, means that you end up representing whether you want to or not.”

This memoir was so real and honest, with Malorie sharing the highs & lows of her career, as well as her path to it. She very nearly almost didn’t become a writer because she didn’t know it was possible, having only ever devoured books in her childhood and youth written by white authors and featuring white characters.

“There is no substitute for insight born of experience.”

The book is narrated by Malorie herself and it’s incredible to hear about her experiences from her own mouth; understanding the nuance and impact of the abuse that she’s endured as well as the benefit of her naivety at the start of her career. We also learn about her health, and how grateful she is to see old age; a perspective that’s not reflected much in the media. Such a blessing & I’m grateful for all of the risks that she took & the path that she has paved for many more Black, female authors to come. A living legend.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful.
Poignant.
Unapologetic.
I remember the power and the impact of reading Noughts & Crosses.
I'm pākehā. That series, and this book, hold windows up, to see other lives. To gain much-needed knowledge and perspective.

[Hâf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always adored Malorie Blackman, Noughts & Crosses has been one of my favourite novels of all time since I read it as a young teen in my local library. This autobiography was the perfect little insight into the life of one of my favourite authors.

[Sharn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this inspirational book. While most people would give up and accept and just move on if things don't go as planned, Malorie never gave up on her dream of becoming an author.

[Kathy-Ann Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely inspiring, heartwarming and touching account of Malorie's life.