What I Wish I’d Known When I Was Young

‘A superb study … brilliant stories, hilarious observations and jaw dropping revelations about so many figures in public life we thought we knew – but never understood’ EMILY MAITLIS
Loss and adversity are part of the human condition, but an imperfect past isn’t always an indicator of what’s to come.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR WHAT I WISH I’D KNOWN WHEN I WAS YOUNG
‘This is a superb study of the way strength can emerge from childhood trauma – brilliant stories, hilarious observations and jaw dropping revelations about so many figures in public life we thought we knew – but never understood’
Emily Maitlis
‘A punchy portrait of how character is forged in adversity. As an idiosyncratic, wide-ranging study, it works. Sylvester and Thomson have succeeded in avoiding “pity porn”; their book is provocative and even uplifting’
The Times
PRAISE FOR THE PAST IMPERFECT PODCAST
‘I promise not to praise Times podcasts unless I really like them. I’ve been recommending Past Imperfect to friends so it would seem unfair of me not to recommend it to readers. In Past Imperfect the paper’s crack interviewing team of Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson talk to politicians and celebrities about their pasts. Their theory is that all successful people are driven to achieve by childhood trauma. As a keen armchair psychologist I am fully behind this premise … Excellent’
James Marriott, The Times