Fourteen, Shannon Molloy
Fourteen, Shannon Molloy
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
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Fourteen
My year of darkness, and the light that followed

Author: Shannon Molloy

Narrator: Shannon Molloy

Unabridged: 8 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/23/2020


Synopsis

The bestseller optioned for a major film and adapted to the stage, Fourteen is this generation’s Holding the Man – a moving coming-of-age memoir about a young man’s search for identity and acceptance in the most unforgiving and hostile of places: high school.

This is a story about my fourteenth year of life as a gay kid at an all-boys rugby-mad Catholic school in regional Queensland. It was a year in which I started to discover who I was, and deeply hated what was revealed. It was a year in which I had my first crush and first devastating heartbreak. It was a year of torment, bullying and betrayal – not just at the hands of my peers, but by adults who were meant to protect me.

And it was a year that almost ended tragically.

I found solace in writing and my budding journalism; in a close-knit group of friends, all growing up too quickly together; and in the fierce protection of family and a mother’s unconditional love. These were moments of light and hilarity that kept me going.

As much as Fourteen is a chronicle of the enormous struggle and adversity I endured, and the shocking consequences of it all, it’s also a tale of survival.

Because I did survive.

Longlisted for the 2021 ABIA Biography Book of the Year

‘Teenagers should read this book, parents should read this book. Human beings, above all, should read this book.’ Rick Morton, bestselling author of One Hundred Years of Dirt
 
‘I love this book … a beautifully written account of a young man struggling with his sexuality, overcoming shocking abuse and finding his way to pride.’ Peter FitzSimons, bestselling author
 
‘Shannon is unflinching in recounting the horror, but he is also funny, empathetic and, above all, full of courage.’ Bridie Jabour, author of The Way Things Should Be   
 
‘A slice of life as experienced quite recently in the “lucky country”.’ The Hon Michael Kirby, AC CMG

‘Shannon's bitter struggle is painfully recognisable and happening in playgrounds around the world. But he not only triumphs, he relives his past using his best weapon: beautiful words.’ Australian Women’s Weekly
 
‘A stunning memoir about heartbreak and acceptance … a unique, hilarious and bittersweet insight into the heart of a boy, the courage of survival, and the fierce love of a mother.’  Frances Whiting, Courier Mail
 
‘Australia hasn’t changed all that much from what Shannon describes in Fourteen. Marriage equality isn’t the end; there is still such a long way to go, and books like this are an important part of that journey.’ FIVE STARS. Good Reading

‘Intensely raw and incredibly moving.’ OUTinPerth

'A book in which many will undoubtably see themselves and take solace' The Age

About Shannon Molloy

Shannon Molloy is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience working for major media outlets spanning print and digital, covering business, entertainment, celebrity and human interest. He is based in Sydney.


Reviews

4★ “I was dangerously miserable, I woke each day with a sense of dread and went to sleep each night gripped by sadness. The idea of pushing on seemed far too difficult.” Just fourteen, young Shannon Molloy is living in Yeppoon, a regional Queensland town on the east coast of Australia. He has posters......more

Goodreads review by Natalie

A brilliant audiobook narrated by author Shannon Molloy. This is one of my top books for the year. A literal slice of life, wherein I felt like I was stepping into the shoes of 14-year-old Shannon. Not only does he experience the complexities of teenagers the world over, but his retelling is fraught......more

Goodreads review by Alonso

This book confirmed what I always believed: everyone’s story is relevant and needs to be told. The story of Shanon Molloy is very similar to my teenage years, even though we grew up in different places and circumstances. I identified with his fears and pains, and I shared his hopes, dreams and music......more

Goodreads review by Al

This is a special book. The year is 2000. The setting is the small town of Yeppoon, not far from Rockhampton, in Queensland. The narrator is the author, Shannon Molloy. It is the year when Shannon turned fourteen; a year that was to be traumatic on a number of levels for a young boy discovering who a......more


Quotes

‘I love this book … a beautifully written account of a young man struggling with his sexuality, overcoming shocking abuse and finding his way to pride. Couldn’t put it down.’ 

Fourteen is a sun-drenched elegy for a boyhood interrupted by hate, fear and violence … This book is Puberty Blues meets Wake in Fright, a heartbreaking foray into adolescence marred by the brutality of calculated loathing and the apathy of unthinking bystanders. But because we are given these landmarks, Shannon also gives us the spaces they cannot fill; the love of a determined mother, the protection of fierce siblings and the almost imperceptible moments of sheer grace that remind us of persistent beauty. There is hope, here. Teenagers should read this book, parents should read this book. Human beings, above all, should read this book.’ 

‘A story of misery so intense that at times I had to look away. But the resilience will wind you. It’s a story of misery, but it is also about the love of mothers, brothers, sisters and best friends. How breathtakingly vivid that love can be, and the strength so many queer people are capable of. Shannon is unflinching in recounting the horror, but he is also funny, empathetic and above all, full of courage.’

‘Shannon's bitter struggle is painfully recognisable and happening in playgrounds around the world. But he not only triumphs, he relives his past using his best weapon: beautiful words.’ 

‘A stunning memoir about heartbreak and acceptance … a unique, hilarious and bittersweet insight into the heart of a boy, the courage of survival, and the fierce love of a mother.’  

‘Australia hasn’t changed all that much from what Shannon describes in Fourteen. Marriage equality isn’t the end; there is still such a long way to go, and books like this are an important part of that journey.’

‘Intensely raw and incredibly moving.’ 

'A book in which many will undoubtably see themselves and take solace'