{"product_id":"i-never-promised-you-a-rose-garden-by-jonny-oates","title":"I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Jonny Oates","description":"\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAged fifteen and armed with a credit card stolen from his father, Jonny Oates ran away from home and boarded a plane to Addis Ababa. His plan? To single-handedly save the Ethiopian people from the devastating 1985 famine. Discovering on arrival that the demand for the assistance of unskilled fifteen-year-old English boys was limited, he learned the hard lesson that you can't change the world just by pure force of will.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA rare political memoir from a figure whose life before politics is every bit as gripping as their time in the corridors of power, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden charts Oates's darkest moments as an idealistic but troubled schoolboy alone in Ethiopia, struggling with his sexuality and mental health; it traces his journey onwards - to Zimbabwe, where, aged eighteen, he becomes deputy headteacher of a rural secondary school; to South Africa in the final year of Nelson Mandela's presidency, where he works in the first post-apartheid parliament as the country seeks to shape a future from its bitterly divided past; and, ultimately, to the roller-coaster ride of Britain's first post-war coalition government, where, as Nick Clegg's chief of staff, he plays a key role in the struggle for his own country's future and learns important lessons about the difference between power and duty. Shot through with a captivating warmth and humour, this heart-stoppingly candid memoir reflects on the challenges of balancing idealism and pragmatism, reminding us that lasting change comes from working together rather than standing alone.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"The Week Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54038091497748,"sku":"lqp1789769113219","price":15.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1011\/7627\/9316\/files\/i-never-promised-you-a-rose-garden-by-jonny-oates_1.jpg?v=1789769117","url":"https:\/\/straphemfit.shop\/products\/i-never-promised-you-a-rose-garden-by-jonny-oates","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}