麻豆约拍

Jo Brand turns advice giver in a typically irreverent guide to life.

She says she's messed up enough times to feel confident she has no wisdom to offer anyone. But who cares? She's going to do it anyway.

Once upon a (very, very) long time ago Jo Brand was what you might describe as "a nice little girl". Of course, that was before the values of cynicism, misogyny and the societal expectation that Jo would be thin, feminine and demure sent her off down Arsey Avenue.

The plot thickened when, due to a complicated fusion of hormones, horrible family dynamics and a no-good boyfriend they hated, Jo ended up leaving home at 16.

Now she's considerably further along life's inevitable journey and, in this memoir, she reveals a side of herself that we don鈥檛 normally hear - the things she wishes she'd known and the things she hopes for the future. As you鈥檇 expect, she pulls no punches.

Jo begins with the wisdom (or otherwise) of giving advice, and guidance on how to survive your family. Drawing on her own battlefield experiences, she suggests the best attitude to love and friendship and finding your way in the world while being kind and being different.

Whether it was her rebellious teenage years or moving from a nursing career to the stand-up comedy circuit, Jo knows that it鈥檚 hard to find out who and what you are, particularly in gaining equality for both sexes.

But she鈥檚 hopeful, as long as we鈥檙e on the same page (and that page isn鈥檛 3), that there鈥檚 scope for great strides forward.

Omnibus of five parts written and read by Jo Brand.

Abridged and produced by Pippa Vaughan.

A Loftus Media production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2018.

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