{"product_id":"great-and-unfortunate-things-9781398542754","title":"Great and Unfortunate Things","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis powerful and intensely moving memoir tells the improbable true story behind the viral news sensation that inspired readers worldwide\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘You did it, didn’t you, Jason?’ Mum asked.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘No, Giff,’ I told her. ‘We did. We did it . . .’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Jason Arday was thirty-seven years old, everything changed. He made international news by becoming the youngest Black professor in the almost thousand-year history of the University of Cambridge. But that remarkable achievement is only part of his great and unfortunate tale. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe grew up in a council house in south London with his parents and two brothers. Diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay at the age of three, he spent much of his non-verbal childhood navigating a system that struggled to understand him. Doctors and teachers believed there was ‘no one in there’. But Jason’s mother, Giff, refused to accept the limits others placed on her son. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the faith of his family and the support of a handful of extraordinary friends and mentors, Jason slowly found his voice. He spoke his first word at eleven, learned to read at eighteen, and discovered a passion for education and helping others that would transform his life. Along the way there were improbable triumphs and heartbreaking setbacks, tears of joy and moments so painful that laughter was the only option, and more than one occasion when everything seemed poised to fall apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGreat and Unfortunate Things\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is an unforgettable book about resilience and love – and the transformative power of someone who believes in you when the world does not.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781398542754\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: Export\/Airside\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 01 Sep 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Simon \u0026amp; Schuster Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)x2.1(W)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eJason Arday is a social commentator, presenter and public speaker. He is currently the Professorial Chair of Education (Sociology of Education) at the University of Cambridge, making him the youngest-ever Black academic to hold a Professorship at Cambridge and one of the youngest academics ever appointed to a Professorial Chair in Oxbridge’s nine-hundred year history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e‘Jason Arday is a remarkable and brilliant man’ -- \u003cb\u003eJames O’Brien, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHow To Be Right\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Unforgettable . . . That oft-used word ‘inspirational’ feels wholly inadequate to describe his incredible story of grit and resilience . . . a book about how it should not be so hard for a gifted, neurodivergent, working-class child of colour to shine . . . It is not just his trailblazing academic achievements that make Arday special. It is also his courage, his genuine humility and his clarion sense of calling’ -- \u003cb\u003eCaroline Sanderson\u003c\/b\u003e * \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Bookseller\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e *\u003cbr\u003e‘Imagine the remarkable \u003ci\u003eEducated\u003c\/i\u003e by Tara Westover, with further education and against perhaps even greater odds’  -- \u003cb\u003eCaroline Sanderson\u003c\/b\u003e * \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Bookseller, \u003c\/i\u003eNon-fiction Book of the Month, August 2026\u003c\/b\u003e *\u003cbr\u003e'Arday's cinematic story from being nonverbal to becoming one of the youngest professors ever at Cambridge makes you believe in the transformative power of grit and the magic of a mother's love. The most inspiring book I've read in decades'  -- \u003cb\u003eChris Gardner, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Pursuit of Happyness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is a remarkable portrait of an astonishing life. \u003ci\u003eGreat and Unfortunate Things \u003c\/i\u003etakes us on a spectacular journey of trial and transformation, offering crucial insight into the realities of neurodivergence, told by an author who changed the shape of his life through sheer will. Above all, this memoir is a poignant tribute to fearless mothers like Arday’s whose love, education and unshakable belief in their children will always make mountains move'  -- \u003cb\u003eSafiya Sinclair, international bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Say Babylon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Some lives are changed by talent. Others are changed by love that refuses to let go. In \u003ci\u003eGreat and Unfortunate Things\u003c\/i\u003e, Jason Arday tells a story of resilience, dignity and the extraordinary power of those who hold steady for us when we cannot yet hold steady for ourselves. This is a beautiful and unforgettable book' -- \u003cb\u003eSteve Pemberton, \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eA Chance in the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I love a good story. As a journalist, storytelling's goal is to both move and inform. Arday's story is as riveting and moving as they come. Jason's efforts to overcome obstacles presented by his neurodivergence are movingly matched only by his mother's extraordinary efforts to work \u003ci\u003ewith\u003c\/i\u003e his differences \u003ci\u003enot \u003c\/i\u003eagainst them, to see the humanity where others chose to see an inky diagnosis'  -- \u003cb\u003eMichelle Miller, author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eBelonging: A Daughter's Search for Identity Through Loss and Love \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'As the mother of a child on the spectrum, I was reminded once again that there is nothing more fierce than a parent's determination to see her child get the services and attention he deserves, nothing more inspiring than a stranger with nothing to gain who asks, \"how can I help?\", and nothing more empowering than intervention combined with positivity, love and grit. Read this book and prepare to be inspired'  -- \u003cb\u003eHolly Robinson Peete, actress, advocate and author of \u003ci\u003eSame but Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘It is a beautiful story, beautifully told. I found it impossible to put down’ -- \u003cb\u003eRick Stroud, author of \u003ci\u003eI Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Jason Arday","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49241061261529,"sku":"9781398542754","price":36.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781398542754.jpg?v=1789301170","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/great-and-unfortunate-things-9781398542754","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}