“ All The Houses I've Ever Lived In" by Kieran Yates is a poignant and reflective memoir that explores the concept of home, identity and belonging. Yates takes readers on a journey through her childhood homes, from a council estate in southeast London to a ranch in Colorado, and reflects on how each place shaped her sense of self and influenced her worldview.

Yates' writing is raw and honest, delving deep into the complexities of family dynamics, cultural identity, and personal growth. She also delves into the broader socio-political issues of gentrification and displacement, highlighting the impact on communities and individuals.

The book is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of the houses and the memories associated with them. The author's vulnerability and introspection make it an engaging read that will resonate with anyone who has ever grappled with the concept of home and what it means to them.

This book is very informative and insightful! As someone who grew up in a council state in my home country, the book's beginning was highly relatable. The housing crisis is pretty real in general and I have noticed more in recent years. As a foreigner living in the UK, I was aware of some of the issues in this country but not the extent that was covered in this book. It is a must-read for anyone renting and wanting to buy a property. Some people are very lucky and don't have to deal with many of the things explained in the book but when you come from a low or non-existent income, things are very different. For people from different backgrounds and minorities, even more. Give it a read and expand your knowledge, and you will realise how some people are very privileged compared to others.

Kieran Yates does a great job of telling the story of housing in Britain and it’s social relevance through the lens of the places she’s lived.
She covers huge topics such as inequality at university, gentrification and slum landlords in a way that’s totally accessible and very personal.
What’s great about it is that you don’t feel like you’re reading social history. You feel like you’re relating to someone you know, such is the skill of what Yates does.
Recommended: it really makes you think about the sociocultural meaning of home and housing without ever preaching, and it thoroughly entertains.

Really enjoyed this, an expansive use of both memoir and political writing to cover the UK housing crisis in a way that is less gloomy than I am when I think about it (which would be much less engrossing to read). Her evident anger at the situation is invigorating, and I really liked the way the book was structured, with each chosen dwelling integrating into a wider topic which range from gentrification to interior design to flatmate auditions to estate agents to landlords to mould (loved that she interviewed a funghi expert!). Incredibly relevant just as it feels like renting in the UK is reaching some kind of tipping point.

I loved Kieran's writing, mixing anecdotes and memoir with facts and research. As someone experiencing just what Yates' describing, this was heartbreaking but inspiring!

This could have been just another piece of investigative journalism, citing the many ways in which the housing system here in the UK fails, but in fact Kieran Yates gives us a fascinating insight into her own personal experience of the system that let her, and her family down on numerous occasions.

Never could this book be more relevant than right now in 2023. Home should be that safe haven away from the madness of the world, a place that provides all our creature comforts, something that we’re not afraid of losing.

Unfortunately this isn’t the case for many ( increasingly so), but what a fascinating memoir this is, covering as it does, The Housing Act of 1980 which was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave five million council house tenants in England and Wales the Right to Buy their house from their local authority. The Act came into force on 3 October 1980 and is seen as a defining policy of Thatcherism. It was a great opportunity for tenants to purchase their homes at reasonable cost but ultimately it meant less housing stock for those unable to afford to buy, and the stock was never truly replenished. Social housing is explored along with, class inequality and gentrification. Landlords and estate agents also come under the spotlight.

A fascinating, interesting and important piece of social history.

I really liked this book and the format was pleasant to read and easy to follow. Kieran Yates has done her research and her lived experience illustrates the housing crisis intelligently and clearly. I particularly enjoyed reading parts about places I myself have lived in; but regardless of that, I found it smart and well written. Bonus point for the chapters on.lamdlords and estate agents.

I am just starting my journey of getting into non-fiction, and what a wonderful place to start.

All The Houses I’ve Ever Lived is a beautiful and fascinating memoir of what ‘home’ really means and a commentary of the current workings (and failings) of the housing system in Britain.

Yates not only explores social housing, the rental market, gentrification and class inequality - but also the little overlooked parts of home; garden, pillows, wallpapers, the feeling of somewhere that is truly yours.
The intimate stories of childhood and belonging hit deep into my own personal experiences of never truly finding a home, redefining what we know and perceive ‘home’ truly as.

Not only does this highlight the urgency regarding the current housing market and what is needed in terms of the right of safe and secure housing - this book is also emotional, moving and incredibly important.

I look forward for the release of this book to get my hands on a physical copy!

* Thank you to Netgalley for the arc *

This book is brilliant and should be read by everyone. We all need a home, somewhere safe we can come back to at the end of the day, and yet this book shows us how actually achieving that, having a place to call your own, is becoming ever more of a challenge.

It is much more than an examination of the housing crisis. Whilst the book has been written by a journalist, with facts, figures and research to back up all the claims, it is also a memoir/biography of the author's life so far, detailing some of the places she has lived, both as a child, teenager and adult. She tells us about her family life, growing up in temporary housing, sofa surfing, even floor surfing at one point. Yet it is always told in a positive light and with lots of good humour.

The book covers the usual problems associated with housing, such as the lack of it, especially for minority groups, social housing, from the huge sell off of council property to living conditions associated with damp, mould and security. From the gentrification of areas and the ever-increasing unaffordability of any type of ownership, be it rented or bought, to the breaking up of communities and what it means to be part of a community.

Kieran Yates isn't just another investigative journalist relating other people's stories of their struggles with housing. She has lived it herself, every aspect of it. I love the way this book has been written. It is so compelling, I just couldn't put it down. She comes across in a chatty, friendly way. Yes, she is angry at how people are expected to live, but is always able to find a silver lining in the most daunting of situations. Above all, she gives a glimmer of hope in activism, in community, in looking out for each other. An inspiring, informative, powerful account of our housing crisis which needs to be heard, but more importantly acted upon.

**To be added to my book blog close to publication date**

I feel like I talk about wanting balance in these information based memoirs, of which I be read a few in the past few years. A number I’ve read feel like two separate books - one that is memoir and another that is a text book. All this to say that Yates strikes the balance perfectly here.

Perhaps it’s my own familiarity with some of the homes she finds herself in, but her personal stories are told so intimately, with the data peppered in so well that it feels completely natural.

There is so much covered here - the right to (safe, secure) housing, renting, social housing, green space, gentrification, interior design, the list goes on - all with nuance, consideration and sensitivity. There are pages that I’ve highlighted to an inch of their life. I’ve already recommended this book to a handful of people that I think will relate to this book on both a professional and personal level, and I’ll especially look forward to actually owning a copy that I can foist on people!

*I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley *

All The Houses I've Ever Lived In is a memoir structured around the places that Yates has called home. Through her personal experience, Yates shows how the UK housing system fails us collectively.

I recently read (and thoroughly enjoyed) Vicky Spratt's Tenants, and while this covers some of the same ground, Yates takes a slightly different approach. As well as exploring the basic right to housing (and how that is all to often under threat), she looks at how different aspects - such as furnishings, privacy, access to green space - impact on our physical and socio-cultural wellbeing. It's smart and nuanced journalism, but never overly-intellectual - Yates' personality shines through the prose.

Well-structured, emotive and thought-provoking, All The Houses I've Ever Lived In is an important read.

Both an intimate history of Yates' life in a community at the margins, and a sweeping look at the reality of how the precarity of housing continues to impact us all, All The Houses I've Ever Lived In puts a face on a crisis with all the warmth and outrage that so defines the experience of trying to live within it. Far from a doom and gloom outlook, this book offers tender insights about the nature of home, friendship, and the value of community, alongside potential solutions and commiserations for anyone who has suffered at the cold, mold-filled edge of the housing crisis.