Writer and performer Lily Bragge has certainly experienced more than most when it comes to toxic family dynamics and rampant addictions. The story of her dirty, shiny life is not a pretty one. But then, as she says: ‘Pretty is not and never was my lot.’

She spares us few details in this firecracker of a memoir. Her childhood was spent pulled between a charming, sociopathic career criminal father and head-teacher mother. Oh, and don’t forget Uncle Bob the paedophile. In adult life, fondness for booze and pills, escalating to a full-blown heroin addiction, saw her losing both custody of her son and her grip on life. Crippling bouts of depression, suicide attempts and a stint in a locked psychiatric ward probably didn’t help. But at the point when the only way left was either up or terminally out, Bragge found salvation in a way you may not see coming.

My Dirty Shiny Life is consistently eye-opening and entertaining, with judicious use of humour cutting through the darkest car-crash moments. Handy Life Rules, such as ‘No. 19: Ecstasy is not child-friendly’, offer tips for readers seeking moral guidance.