Thinking Out Loud: Love, Grief and Being Mum and Dad - Softcover

Ferdinand, Rio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147367025X ISBN 13: 9781473670259

Publisher: Hodder, 2018

Synopsis

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

'A lacerating account ... painful but necessary' EVENING STANDARD

'Beautiful & significant ... Tackles grief with honesty' DAWN FRENCH

'Very important and moving book' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL

'A searingly honest book. So much of Rio's emotional turmoil and deep loss resonated with me. At the same time I loved his message of hope' GLORIA HUNNIFORD

'Rio's courageous story of life, loss, grief and hope' PRIMA CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE, 'Best of the Celebrity Crop'

'Tender, heartbreaking ... An extraordinary and unforgettable book. *****' HEAT

* * * * * *

'When Rebecca died, the idea that one day I might begin to feel better would have struck me as laughable ... I know how persuasive this kind of permanence thinking can be.

I know too that anyone locked in its grip will laugh if I promise them that their pain will one day ease. It will. Of course it will. But I know better than to expect anyone to believe me.'

In 2015, former England football star Rio Ferdinand suddenly and tragically lost his wife and soulmate Rebecca, aged 34, to cancer. It was a profound shock and Rio found himself struggling to cope not just with the pain of his grief, but also with his new role as both mum and dad to their three young children.

Rio's BBC1 documentary, Being Mum and Dad, touched everyone who watched it and won huge praise for the honesty and bravery he showed in talking about his emotions and experiences. His book now shares the story of meeting, marrying and losing Rebecca, his own and the family's grief - as well as the advice and support that get him through each day as they strive to piece themselves back together. Thinking Out Loud is written in the hope that he can inspire others struggling with loss and grief to find the help they need through this most difficult of times.

About this title

About the Author

Rio Ferdinand is a former England footballer who also played football for Manchester United during Sir Alex Ferguson's time as manager. Rio played 81 times for England and in 3 World Cups, and is one of the most decorated footballers of all time.

He had his first son with Rebecca in 2006 and they married in 2009, going on to have two more children before her death in May 2015 from cancer.

Rio is now a TV football pundit for BT Sport and as well as his BBC documentary on bereavement, Being Mum and Dad, has made a short Heads Together charity film with Prince Harry on mental health. He is also working alongside Child Bereavement and Jigsaw.

Review

'Achingly raw and emotional'―SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE

'Tender, heartbreaking ... An extraordinary and unforgettable book *****'―HEAT

'So much more than your standard, brittle career retrospective ... A winningly open account of the former Manchester United captain's attempt to cope with life and fatherhood after the loss of his wife, Rebecca, to cancer - realities for which Ferdinand was scarcely prepared by the world of top-level football, a bubble so minutely protective that even the clipping of his toenails was done for him'―THE TIMES

'Rio Ferdinand's Thinking Out Loud ... is a lacerating account ... This painful but necessary book is written with the Guardian journalist Decca Aitkenhead, who has herself lost a partner. Not very Christmassy, perhaps, but probably the best way to spend your £20 in the celeb market this year'―EVENING STANDARD

'Rio's honesty is astonishing, and will change how men grieve and how men think about their feelings. This is a ground-breaking book'―Julia Samuel, Founder Patron of Child Bereavement UK and best-selling author of GRIEF WORKS

'Ferdinand's powerful new book [is] a detailed and inevitably very raw description of how he has tried to cope with life after the loss of his wife'―THE TIMES

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 147367025X
• ISBN 13: 9781473670259
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288