{"product_id":"i-never-promised-you-a-rose-garden-book-jonny-oates-9781785905728","title":"I Never Promised You A Rose Garden","description":"Aged fifteen and armed with a credit card stolen from his father, Jonny Oates ran away from home and boarded a plane to Addis Ababa. His plan? To single-handedly save the Ethiopian people from the devastating 1985 famine. Discovering on arrival that the demand for the assistance of unskilled fifteen-year-old English boys was limited, he learned the hard lesson that you can't change the world just by pure force of will.   A rare political memoir from a figure whose life before politics is every bit as gripping as their time in the corridors of power, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden charts Oates's darkest moments as an idealistic but troubled schoolboy alone in Ethiopia, struggling with his sexuality and mental health; it traces his journey onwards - to Zimbabwe, where, aged eighteen, he becomes deputy headteacher of a rural secondary school; to South Africa in the final year of Nelson Mandela's presidency, where he works in the first post-apartheid parliament as the country seeks to shape a future from its bitterly divided past; and, ultimately, to the roller-coaster ride of Britain's first post-war coalition government, where, as Nick Clegg's chief of staff, he plays a key role in the struggle for his own country's future and learns important lessons about the difference between power and duty.   Shot through with a captivating warmth and humour, this heart-stoppingly candid memoir reflects on the challenges of balancing idealism and pragmatism, reminding us that lasting change comes from working together rather than standing alone.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49564501442833,"sku":"GOR010883589","price":10.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737470509329,"sku":"NGR9781785905728","price":27.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49800336867601,"sku":"CIN1785905724G","price":5.67,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53191099842833,"sku":"GOR011944895","price":11.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785905724.jpg?v=1751442446","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/i-never-promised-you-a-rose-garden-book-jonny-oates-9781785905728","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}