Gypsy Boy

Mikey was born into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back.This is something Mikey knows only too well.Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.

But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture his family s legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse.Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.

“Touching, insightful, funny and incredibly shocking '”

It was a revelation. Moving, terrifying, funny and brilliant. I shall never forget it - an amazing achievement - Stephen Fry

Touching, insightful, funny and incredibly shocking - HEAT

Explosive, sparkling and hugely entertaining - this is a twisted fairytale from a truly original mind - Hayley Atwell, star of The Duchess and Brideshead Revisited

Gypsy Boy is a brilliant but bittersweet story, which reads like a magical fairytale. Although he could be excused for doing so, Mikey never descends into self pity - and has found the perfect balance between humour and harsh reality. Gypsy Boy sits somewhere between the grittiness of Irvine Welsh, and the charming warmth of Frank McCourt. - Dermot O'Leary

best memoir since Running with Scissors - Attitude

Mikey Walsh's memoirs were an unexpected smash hit last year and the audiobook version is every bit as enjoyable. - HEAT

Brash and frightening and funny -- tonally, think of Frank McCourt meeting Axl Rose. - The New York Times

In this violent yet often comic memoir, Walsh writes of life as an English Gypsy.... Gypsy Boy feels, in all its cocky, awkward affection and anguish, like the real deal. - The Boston Globe

Five years ago Mikey Walsh finally succumbed to staying put.

London called him and it is the longest time he has ever lived in one place. He works at a nearby primary school, where he teaches art and drama, and also picks up the formal education he missed out on as a child. Mikey proposed to his partner on the number 38 bus two years ago and they married last summer.

Mikey was born into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back.This is something Mikey knows only too well.Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture his family s legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse.Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.

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