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About A Son : A Murder and A Father s Search for Truth - David Whitehouse

About A Son

A Murder and A Father s Search for Truth

By: David Whitehouse

Paperback | 20 April 2023 | Edition Number 1

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'The book that everyone will be talking about this year: a staggering work of honesty, empathy and humanity, wholly unlike anything else you will have read' Terri White

On the evening of Halloween in 2015, Morgan Hehir was walking with friends close to Nuneaton town centre when they were viciously attacked by a group of strangers. Morgan was stabbed, and died hours later in hospital. He was twenty years old and loved making music with his band, going to the football with his mates, having a laugh; a talented graffiti artist who dreamed of moving away and building a life for himself by the sea.

From the moment he heard the news, Morgan's father Colin Hehir began to keep an extraordinary diary. It became a record not only of the immediate aftermath of his son's murder, but also a chronicle of his family's evolving grief, the trial of Morgan's killers, and his personal fight to unravel the lies, mistakes and cover-ups that led to a young man with a history of violence being free to take Morgan's life that night.

Inspired by this diary, About a Son is a unique and deeply moving exploration of love and loss and a groundbreaking work of creative non-fiction. Part true crime, part memoir, it tells the story of a shocking murder, the emotional repercussions, and the failures that enabled it to take place. It shows how grief affects and changes us, and asks what justice means if the truth is not heard. It asks what can be learned, and where we go from here.
Industry Reviews
I feel very lucky to have read this book. Extraordinary and important . . . a triumph - Adam Kay, bestselling author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT

The book that everyone will be talking about this year: a staggering work of honesty, empathy and humanity, wholly unlike anything else you will have read. Whitehouse is a masterful storyteller who builds an intimate, immersive and unflinching portrait of a boy lost to preventable violence and the family who loved him. I found it absolutely compelling from the first word to the last and know I will never forget it - Terri White, author of Coming Undone

About A Son is a story of grief and the urgent all consuming need for closure when truth and justice are denied. Told with such skill, almost like a letter to the grieving father, a gift that honours the details of the crime and its aftermath, while transforming them into art. Both forensic and compassionate, it asks how do we come to terms with the tragic loss of a beloved son, failed by the system and taken far too early. This is an enthralling and beautiful book that stands as a lasting testament to the power and pain of familial love - Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father

A book of love and grief, and about what justice can and cannot deliver. I shall always remember Morgan and his family - Sunjeev Sahota, author of The Year of The Runaways

David Whitehouse's account of the senseless, preventable murder of a much-loved son, brother and friend, and the unfathomable grief that fuelled his father's quest for the truth, is an astonishing achievement. About A Son is a book that will stay with you for a long, long time. A memorial to Morgan Hehir, the love he gave and the love that surrounded him in his all too short life, it is as beautiful and brilliant as it is heart-breaking - Dan Davies, author of In Plain Sight, winner of the Gordon Burn Prize

The book that everyone will be talking about this year: a staggering work of honesty, empathy and humanity, wholly unlike anything else you will have read. Whitehouse is a masterful storyteller who builds an intimate, immersive and unflinching portrait of a boy lost to preventable violence and the family who loved him. I found it absolutely compelling from the first word to the last and know I will never forget it - Terri White, author of Coming Undone

Gripping, moving and beautifully executed . . . This is the first book I've read in a long time that acknowledges the grief, rage and misery of a crime's aftermath, and it does so with such truthfulness, humanity and respect. Hugely affecting - David Nicholls

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