"Fatherless, friendly 31yoF looking for intrepid M50s-70s who wants to try being a father figure (not sugar daddy)."
Georgie Codd never had a dad. And she didn’t think that would ever change – until a stranger’s practical joke made her wonder if she could find one. So began her quest for a father figure, placing ‘dadverts’ in newspapers, magazines and corners of the internet she thought the fatherly might frequent.
Along with the conversations, meetings, twists and turns of seeking family relationships with near-strangers comes a curious look at the societal, cultural and biological functions of fatherhood. What makes someone decide to have or not have a child? What is the experience for single parents, for queer communities, for people rejected by their birth family – or for those who do the rejecting? And why were so many 'dads' angling for something other than parenthood?
By turns brilliant and bonkers, hilarious and poignant, this is an unexpected story of the strange, intimate things we mean when we talk about family.
WE SWIM TO THE SHARK
"Georgie Codd is scared of fish. Really, really scared."
Georgie's first book, We Swim To The Shark, launched with Fleet in January 2020, and featured on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
UK and Commonwealth readers can order their copies through local bookshops and libraries.
We Swim To The Shark is also available globally through the Book Depository (includes USA) and Amazon.
You can read the book's opening extract here, on the UEA's New Writing website.