THE MERCY STEP

Set in 1960s Bradford, The Mercy Step follows Mercy, a
precocious young child facing a world far too big for her
small body. She lives with her Windrush-generation
parents in a crowded household where her mother’s
attention is stretched between church and family, and her
father’s temper is something to be endured or avoided.
Feeling like an outsider within her own home, Mercy
retreats into books and the companionship of her beloved
doll, Dolly, while learning early how to navigate the flaws
and failings of the adults around her. Yet Mercy is nothing
if not resilient. Armed with humour, style and fierce
imagination, she quietly begins to plot her escape from a
traumatic childhood.
A raw and deeply affecting novel of childhood, family and
survival in 1960s Britain.