'Utterly direct . . . The poems are passionate yet controlled, simple in form and sparing of imagery' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Luke wright and this time it's personal. But seriously, a highly original idea, expertly carried out' JOHN COOPER CLARKE

'I was bawling from the first page and gulped it down in one swift swallow' HOLLIE MCNISH

'A beautiful, brilliant collection. I defy you not to be moved' BRIAN BILSTON

What is a later life letter? Written by a child's social worker to be opened at an appropriate age, it details their journey from birth to adoption. When Luke Wright received his as a teenager, he didn't think much of it. But now, married to a social worker and seeing the care she takes with these letters, he re-examines his own past - and the life he might have had.

Should he feel close to the biological brothers he knows only through social media? Do his beginnings in a notorious tower-block estate counteract the privilege of a sheltered suburban upbringing? How grateful should he be to adopted parents who are - in the end - simply parents?


In this memoir in poetry, no emotion is simple or expected. Wright writes with pinpoint honesty, teasing out the nuances of family, memory and belonging, and illuminating the gaps in the familiar beats of an adoption story.

'When it comes to poetry, performing and family Luke Wright is a lifer. Read this book' LEMN SISSAY

'Made me laugh, cry, think and shudder' PETE DOHERTY

'Intimate and universal, epic and singular. Beautifully written' JOELLE TAYLOR

'A genius poet - funny, profound, life-changing' JOHANN HARI

"If the purpose of poetry is to make us bilingual in our own language, Wright succeeds in finding new and beautiful ways of expressing the everyday" - Guardian

"Utterly direct . . . The poems are passionate yet controlled, simple in form and sparing of imagery" - Financial Times

"Visceral, poignant and riotously funny . . . A sharpness and wisdom that lifts the soul and soothes the battered heart" - Scotsman

"Wright's performance is human, vulnerable, eminently honest and very, very eloquent" - Guardian

"Wright's a balladeer for our time" - Poor Rude Lines

"His poems shoot arrows through the heart" - The List

"Honesty, humour, ire and wonder. He is at the peak of his powers" - The Stage

"Warm and honest . . . [his] wit, pathos and silliness has made him one of the most popular live poets in England" - Newmarket Journal