Product Description

Clarissa was born into wealth and privilege, as a child, shooting and hunting were the norm and pigeons were flown in from Cairo for supper. Her mother was an Australian heiress, her father was a brilliant surgeon to the Royal family. But he was also a tyrannical and violent drunk who used to beat her and force her to eat carrots with slugs still clinging to them. Clarissa was determined and clever, though, and her ambition led her to a career in the law. At the age of 21, she was the youngest ever woman to be called to the Bar.

Disaster struck when her adored mother died suddenly. It was to lead to a mind-numbing decade of wild over-indulgence. Rich from her inheritance, in the end Clarissa partied away her entire fortune. It was a long, hard road to recovery along which Clarissa finally faced her demons and turned to the one thing that had always brought her joy - cooking. Now at last she has found success, sobriety and peace.

With the stark honesty and the brilliant wit we love her for, Clarissa recounts the tale of a life lived to extremes. A vivid and funny story, it is as moving as it is a cracking good read.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #921 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
'Packed with hilarious anecdotes, fizzing with energy, throbbing with pain, this has to be the autobiography of the year' (Daily Mail )

'She packs her story with marvellous anecdotes' (Sunday Times )

'This is a searing book, but also one with rays of good humour' (Country Life )

'Extraordinary and occasionally heartbreaking story' (Belfast Telegraph )

'Fascinating’ ‘An often funny, shocking and very honest read’ (Active Life )

About the Author
Clarissa Dickson Wright found fame alongside Jennifer Paterson as one half of the much loved, TV cooking partnership Two Fat Ladies. She is the author of five cookery books including The Game Cookbook and, most recently, Sunday Roast, both with Johnny Scott. She is also a passionate supporter of the Countryside Alliance and of rural life and pursuits. She lives a little in London but mostly in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Confined to bed; this almost made it worthwhile.
What an amazing, moving, autobiography. A strong person who through her relentlesly non-self-pitying honesty gives hope to all of us with our own acknowledged flaws, and allows us to form other perspectives on various ideas about life without thrusting her own views upon us. Thank you, Clarissa. Perhaps you could now turn your hand to writing novels, since it would be unfair to expect another volume of your autobiography just yet. You have left me wanting to read more of your fabulous thoughts, which could surely be given somewhat more of a free rein in a novel, so please think about turning your talents in that direction.

Sadly, I don't suppose you will ever see this. If anyone else does, I cannot recommend this book more strongly; it is both uplifting and inspiring.

Cora-Lynne

Fantastic, funny, sad, moving and story of survival!
I loved it! Clarissa is so funny and very clever! Sadly, she had been affected by alcoholism brought on by the loss of her mother, that said, her father was an alcoholic so the addictive gene is there!

She has had an eventful life to say the least and although was struck by alcoholism and the truama of what happened to her in her earlier years she is a born survivor and an example to all! You can recover and pick yourself up and even better with the support of friends - she has lots of them.

This book was laugh out loud at points - you could actually hear her speaking as you read. There were of course very poignant times too which affected her deeply.

She was never afraid of hard work and proved that even although she was a barrister, when she hit an all time low she took a job in a country manor as a cook! She had no qualms about doing so either. A lesson to us all!

A fine read and well worth the money - I loved it and recommend it to anyone!

A wonderful insight into a facinating personality
I have always loved Clarissa Dickson Wright's TV programs and books. I followed the Two Fat Ladies and Clarissa and the Countryman avidly. When I caught a preview of this book in the Sunday Mail, I preordered it there and then.

It was from the beginning an very matter of fact tale of a person who has led an incredible life of ups and downs and then when it seemed all was lost, turned it around when so many may have just given up.

From being violently abused by her famous father, becomming a barrister just to spite him, to falling into the abyss of alcoholism and then digging herself out again, this story had me enthralled and amazed from the first page to the last.

I recommend it to anyone who is facinated by the human being's ability to survive against the odds.