A Twelvemonth and a Day

Shortlisted for the Whitbread Award: "this bleak tale" of a month in the life of a family struggling with addiction "is a work of considerable force" ( The Scotsman , UK).

Punchy, sharp-witted and acutely observed, Born Free tells the story of an ordinary family living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and dealing with their troubles in an all-too ordinary way: each member is trying to escape life--and each other--through his or her drug of choice, whether it's alcohol, sex, Prozac, or the Internet.

The interactions between parents Angie and Vic, and their teenage children Jake and Joni, reveal a hellish cocktail of mid-life crises and adolescent angst; the savagery of sibling rivalry; the waking nightmare of a marriage gone cold--and the unbridgeable, infernal chasm between the generations. It's a story of everyday life.

Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award

Nominated for the Orange Prize

"One of Scotland's most talented writers."-- Daily Telegraph , UK