Long Going

At 50, Sophie Calon’s father was a celebrated lawyer. At 55, he was found dead on a garage forecourt at Christmas. Meanwhile he had pinballed between homeless shelters, prison cells, and dry-out hostels. His story is a lesson in how alcoholism corrodes a person – and a family.

Long Going is a powerful, unflinching memoir that sings with Calon’s love for her eccentric, witty father while recounting his drink-fuelled disintegration. In telling his story, Calon explores her family’s instability and pain as well as her own survival. “Throughout my childhood, our family’s struggles couldn’t be said aloud. I hope that, together with readers, we can all come to deeper understandings about addiction, grief, and how we could break destructive cycles.”

“Hugely impacting and searingly honest, Sophie Calon's work is a powerful piece of memoir: bold, bruising and yet beautiful.” James Canton, Grounded