"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.
Praise for Never Had a Dad:
- "A dating quest with a difference" The Times
- "[A] strange, touching but often very funny account of one woman's search for a father figure" Daily Mail
- "So interesting, so funny, so moving... I am raving about it to people" Katherine Angel, Daddy Issues
- "A tale of fathers, daughters and missing pieces" BBC World Service
- "I’ve been sitting behind a microphone interviewing people for almost 30 years, and you think every book has been written... You think every idea has come out. And then you pick up a book like this... What a wonderful idea and what a wonderful project... Everybody needs to get hold of a copy of this book; it's a brilliant book" Jo Good, BBC Radio London
- "I was riveted... [Georgie's] writing voice is completely extraordinary" Sophie Lewis, Enemy Feminisms
- "An exploration of what family actually means, delivered with enough humour to make you forget you’re learning something deep" Chelsey Flood, Overthink Tank
WE SWIM TO THE SHARK
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.
Praise for We Swim to the Shark:
- "An almost spiritual mission... sharply drawn" Times Literary Supplement
- "An enthralling ride" ABC Melbourne
- "We Swim to the Shark is a lesson in not giving up, demonstrating that, as with all good adventure stories, the real benefit is in the searching" The i
- "Engulfing, entrancing and inspiring" The Barefoot Bookseller
- "Revealing about the nature of all phobias" Daily Mail
- "Smart nature-narrative writing, and hugely enjoyable" Outdoor Swimming Society
- "[An] insight into the inner psyche and the natural world" Hackney Citizen
- "A terrific read" BBC Radio Norfolk