Handstands In The Dark

The extraordinary memoir of Janey Godley, one of the UK's most popular comedians, telling her story of growing up amidst the violence on Glasgow's tough East End in her inimitable voice.

Throughout it all, her indomitable spirit – and her vivid sense of humour – kept her alive.

A vivid, intimate and darkly funny account of a life less ordinary, Handstands in the Dark tells the story of how one girl escaped a chaotic family and became one of the UK’s most popular comedic talents.

Born in the tough East End of Glasgow and married into one of the city’s most notorious criminal families, Janey Godley’s young life was far from ordinary. From the grim and far-from-swinging 60s, to the discos of the 70s, to the tidal wave of heroin addiction which engulfed Glasgow's East End during the 1980s, Janey was witness to an extraordinary underworld - as well as religious sectarianism, abject poverty and a frightening family of in-laws. Throughout it all, her indomitable spirit – and her vivid sense of humour – kept her alive.

A vivid, intimate and darkly funny account of a life less ordinary, Handstands in the Dark tells the story of how one girl escaped a chaotic family and became one of the UK’s most popular comedic talents.