Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
A Life Well Red: A memoir edged in black - a true story of family, friends & football, of joy and tragedy

A Life Well Red: A memoir edged in black - a true story of family, friends & football, of joy and tragedy

Byrne, James
Jackson, Les

Paperback

Biographies General

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN13: 9798706023966
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Mar 18 2021
Pages: 296
Weight: 0.96
Height: 0.67 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Les Jackson is a husband and father who has been a fan of Liverpool Football Club for as long as he can remember. As have his wife Sandra and children Tom, Dan and Liv. After Tom was murdered in a Queensland hostel in 2016, Les sought catharsis by writing about the incident and his traumatic journey down under - when his son was still clinging to life - to be by his side in what turned out to be his final hours. The subsequent birth of his beautiful first grandchild Hallie Hope has inspired Les to further record for posterity his recollections of growing up in inner city Liverpool before marrying Sandra, leaving their much loved hometown, and raising a family. His story weaves between the three pillars of family, friends and football, providing a potted history of Liverpool's successes and failures over the last 50 years and more, particularly where these intersect with other memories, or themselves are momentous events, such as the Hillsborough disaster and, on a happier note, the Miracle of Istanbul. Starting with Les's professed love of football and Liverpool FC in particular, the story ends with his acknowledged realisation that, as important as they undoubtedly are, love of family conquers all. And great friends are irreplaceable. ***This is a story of unimaginable pain and loss, but also the joy of a life lived to the full, told with good grace, love and an unrelenting Scouse humour. Having only met Les Jackson when tragedy struck both our lives, I was largely unaware of the sense of humour which suffuses these pages, or of the richness of experiences which are a keynote to his life. What struck me from the first in both Les and Sandra was a determination to survive whatever life threw at them. Now I know where this quality originated.Les's journey, from working class Liverpudlian with dreams of glory at Anfield, to his current life as breadwinner, parent, husband and above all, faithful Liverpool football fan, is portrayed lyrically and with a gentle wry humour that cannot help but captivate the reader. Favourite of all the superb pen portraits of the personalities who helped to form Les's world and eventually his own character, include Boy's Brigade leader Captain Sidney Rannard, who lived a life of service to his community rarely witnessed then or now, and who Les credits for his profound influence on himself and his fellow attendees.As a non-football fan I expected to be left cold by descriptions of Liverpool's successes and failures, but Les managed to convey his sense of euphoria at various matches, particularly in his description of Liverpool's famous comeback from the jaws of defeat in Istanbul and the kinship experienced with his son Tom.The toughest part of the book is undoubtedly the news of an attack on Tom, Les and Sandra's eldest, and the agonising wait beside his bed followed by his eventual loss. This is conveyed in a minute-by-minute account which takes the reader through the unimaginable horror and the incredible pain as a family tries to mend the wound after its heart has been ripped out.The book ends on the high of Tom's bravery awards, both British and Australian, and the first of what will evidently be a Jackson dynasty to grace Anfield's terraces.A powerful account of a life well lived - Rosie Ayliffe, author 'Far From Home'

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