{"product_id":"fourteen-my-year-of-darkness-and-the-light-that-followed","title":"Fourteen: My year of darkness, and the light that followed","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe bestseller optioned for a major film and adapted to the stage, \u003ci\u003eFourteen\u003c\/i\u003e is this generation’s \u003ci\u003eHolding the Man\u003c\/i\u003e – a moving coming-of-age memoir about a young man’s search for identity and acceptance in the most unforgiving and hostile of places: high school.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This is a story about my fourteenth year of life as a gay kid at an all-boys rugby-mad Catholic school in regional Queensland. It was a year in which I started to discover who I was, and deeply hated what was revealed. It was a year in which I had my first crush and first devastating heartbreak. It was a year of torment, bullying and betrayal – not just at the hands of my peers, but by adults who were meant to protect me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And it was a year that almost ended tragically.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I found solace in writing and my budding journalism; in a close-knit group of friends, all growing up too quickly together; and in the fierce protection of family and a mother’s unconditional love. These were moments of light and hilarity that kept me going.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As much as \u003ci\u003eFourteen\u003c\/i\u003e is a chronicle of the enormous struggle and adversity I endured, and the shocking consequences of it all, it’s also a tale of survival.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Because I did survive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the 2021 ABIA Biography Book of the Year \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘Teenagers should read this book, parents should read this book. Human beings, above all, should read this book.’ \u003cb\u003eRick Morton, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eOne Hundred Years of Dirt\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ‘I love this book … a beautifully written account of a young man struggling with his sexuality, overcoming shocking abuse and finding his way to pride.’ \u003cb\u003ePeter FitzSimons, bestselling author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ‘Shannon is unflinching in recounting the horror, but he is also funny, empathetic and, above all, full of courage.’ \u003cb\u003eBridie Jabour, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Way Things Should Be \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ‘A slice of life as experienced quite recently in the “lucky country”.’ \u003cb\u003eThe Hon Michael Kirby, AC CMG\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘Shannon's bitter struggle is painfully recognisable and happening in playgrounds around the world. But he not only triumphs, he relives his past using his best weapon: beautiful words.’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAustralian Women’s Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ‘A stunning memoir about heartbreak and acceptance … a unique, hilarious and bittersweet insight into the heart of a boy, the courage of survival, and the fierce love of a mother.’  \u003cb\u003eFrances Whiting, \u003ci\u003eCourier Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ‘Australia hasn’t changed all that much from what Shannon describes in \u003ci\u003eFourteen\u003c\/i\u003e. Marriage equality isn’t the end; there is still such a long way to go, and books like this are an important part of that journey.’ FIVE STARS.\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eGood Reading\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘Intensely raw and incredibly moving.’ \u003cb\u003eOUTinPerth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A book in which many will undoubtably see themselves and take solace' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Age\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46026442244287,"sku":"9781761424342","price":24.74,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/1689\/8751\/files\/81374-f73e1570162d0e6f21055d5c89a47e75a64ef0b3510e77b31b0275cf324c7843.jpg?v=1786900864","url":"https:\/\/www.popweasel.co.nz\/products\/fourteen-my-year-of-darkness-and-the-light-that-followed","provider":"Pop Weasel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}